


Outlast: Memories

by ImmyA04



Category: Outlast (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 21:11:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11998041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImmyA04/pseuds/ImmyA04





	1. New Beginnings

It was Blake's first day of Fourth Grade. It didn't seem like much of a change than Third Grade except that a new priest called Father Loutermilch had joined the school. Blake had two best friends, Lynn Reid and Jessica Grey. They were both girls, and sometimes Blake would get teased for hanging around with two girls, but generally Blake was liked by everybody. Blake was a short kid, with brown hair and startlingly green eyes. Even though Blake was only 9, he had a passion for photography. Recently for his birthday he had got a new camera! As Blake's mother dropped him off at the car park, he could already see Jessica and Lynn waiting for him at the front gate.

"Hi." said Blake, shortly.

"Hi, nerd" said Jessica.

Lynn gave a short chuckle and Blake returned a reluctant grin.

"Shut up!"

The rest of the school day at Saint Sybil was an average school day. After the last bell, Blake, Lynn and Jessica all made to leave the class. On their way out, they saw the new priest Father Loutermilch. He had very large brown eyes and a strange red mark on his forehead.

"Hello there, children." he said, hardly looking at them.

"Hello, Father Loutermilch." the three friends chorused. He looked round, his eyes passing over Blake and Lynn, finally resting on Jessica. Immediately, his pupils widened.

"And what is your name, my dear?" he said, with apparent interest.

"Jessica. Jessica Grey."

"Well, it was lovely to meet you. Goodbye!"

He walked away.

"Why was he so interested in you, Jess?" asked Lynn.

"Probably because I'm so beautiful and you're so ugly!" said Jessica.

And we happily walked home. All was good. For now...

The next few months were uneventful, except for the fact that Father Loutermilch was getting very close to Jessica. Blake suspected this was because she was generally good at every subject and was very religious. But one snowy December day, Blake, Lynn and Jessica's excitement for Christmas vanished. Jessica's mother had sadly passed away. As soon as Jessica told the news, she and Lynn immediately broke down in tears. Blake was too shocked to say anything. Mrs. Grey was such a nice woman. Jessica was her in miniature, both with the same blonde hair, dazzling blue eyes and a kind, sweet nature. However, what else that was strange was that Mr. Grey had already been engaged, after only one week following his wife's death. And when Blake attended Mrs. Grey's funeral, he seemed quite unabashed. When the piano factory school trip came around, Jessica said she did not want to go, even though Blake knew she loved playing pianos and loved music in general. Her father must not have wanted her to go for some reason. Jessica was also getting very jumpy and anxious these days. She was always trying to find ways to stay behind after school. Another weird incident was when Blake and Jessica were in the Computer Lab, Jessica quickly turned off a window as soon as Blake walked past her, claiming that she 'still hadn't figured out this whole computer thing'. And what was more, she was getting called out very frequently by Father Loutermilch, almost every day. Blake tried to talk to Lynn about this.

"Jessica's been acting strange lately, what's up with her."

"Blake, come on, put yourself in her shoes. Her mom just passed away and her dad is gonna remarry so soon after. I'm pretty sure you would be acting 'strange' if this happened to you..."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

But Blake still had suspicions that she was hiding something...


	2. Death of a Friend

One snowy day after the school bell rang, Jessica approached Blake.

"Stay after school with me today."

"Why?" asked Blake.

"Dunno. Just for fun." explained Jessica.

"Well, seeing as my parents don't get home till later anyway... I guess I could." said Blake, wondering why Jessica was so reluctant to go home.

"Thank you!" said Jessica.

For some reason, Jessica had not asked Lynn, which gave Blake the feeling that she wanted to be with him alone. First, the two of them played around with the computers. This got slightly boring afterwards, so they both went down to the store room in the kitchens for some food and drink. They sat there, happily eating chips and drinking Cola.

"Lynn says you haven't even kissed her yet." said Jessica unexpectedly.

"What?" asked Blake, confused, feeling his face go red.

"Like in Beauty and the Beast."

"Oh, the play" said Blake, realisation dawning over him. "You mean drama. We're saving for the, like, actual night."

"Uh-huh." said Jessica doubtfully.

"We are!" he said hotly. "We like, cheek kiss."

"So like, is she your girlfriend?" Jessica asked. "Tell me, or else."

"Or else what?" he said.

She then pinned Blake down, tickling him, which was always his weak spot.

"Haha." Jessica laughed. "I got you again!"

Blake giggled for a few moments, but it eventually became too much.

"Oka- get off. Get off me!"

"Not unless you answer!" said Jessica

"No!"

"Fine. Then you have to give up. If you say I win, I'll let you up."

"Okay..."

"You have to say it!"

"You win! Okay?" said Blake grudgingly.

She looked him over for a few seconds before saying, "You're such a pushover Blake." and letting him up.

Blake stood up and did not answer. She held his hand, and he did not take it away. They walked out of the store room and through the kitchen into the dining area. Blake noticed how creepy the dark school looked at night and the snow outside was eerie. But he did not mention this.

"I don't know why you have to be so precious about it." said Jessica.

"Did Lynn ask you to ask me?"

"I asked first!"

"Hmm." Blake said shortly.

"So?" she pressed on.

"I don't know." he said truthfully

"Nerd."

"Shut up."

"You are."

They walked along the long corridors of St. Sybil. Some lights were on and some were off. Blake felt like someone was watching them, like they were not alone. He had a suspicion that Lynn had probably told Jessica to ask him if Lynn was his girlfriend.

"She said to ask, didn't she?" questioned Blake.

"I don't know. I just wanted to know."

It was a quarter to 9. They had entered a dark corridor. Why did Blake have a feeling that something was going to go wrong?

"You think your parents are home yet?" asked Jessica."

"No. Usually not until after dinner." he told her.

"You think I could... come over?"

"Sure." said Blake, without thinking about it. But then he asked "Um, why?"

"Why what?" asked Jessica, although Blake knew that she knew what he was talking about.

"Like, why do you want to come over?"

"I don't know." she said, sounding a bit embarassed.

They continued walking on and were near their music class, when someone came out of the door, making both of them jump.

"What don't you know, Jessica?" It was Father Loutermilch. He looked at both of them, waiting for an answer.

"Oh no." thought Blake. We are gonna get in big trouble."

"Oh! I'm sorry, Father Loutermilch." said Jessica, looking scared.

"What are the two of you doing in here?" said Loutermilch, looking menacing.

"We stayed after school for... journal." said Blake, but his hesitation made it obvious that he was lying. "We were just leaving."

"Let's step back into class, please." said Loutermilch, obviously not believing the lie.

"Blake?" said Jessica, looking frightened, motioning for him to follow her into the Music Room. He made to follow.

"You're not in trouble yet, Blake." Loutermilch said to Blake, walking over to Blake, looking down at him with his large brown eyes."You don't wanna get in trouble, do you?"

"Just stay with me." said Jessica, grabbing his hand. They both walked into the Music Room, Loutermilch following.

"I want the two of you to tell me what you were doing in here." said Loutermilch sharply. "Were you misbehaving? Do I need to call your parents? Jessica, do I need to call your father again?"

"No! Please!" she said, and Loutermilch gave her a satisfied smile. Blake was extremely confused. What on Earth was going on?

"I only want us to be friends." said Loutermilch. "Does one of you think you can make this right? Jessica? Jessica, look at me. Will you pray with me? Will you help me make this right?" he said, stroking her face softly.

"OK, this is messed up." thought Blake. He may only be nine, but he knew that Loutermilch could not touch a pupil like that!

"Why don't you go along home, Blake?" said Loutermilch.

"Don't go." pleaded Jessica.

"Did I interrupt something between you two?" asked Loutermilch, threateningly.

"It wasn't like that." said Blake, in a very small voice.

"Then what was it that you want?" questioned Loutermilch.

Blake was speechless. He had no clue what Father Loutermilch was saying.

"You won't say?" said Loutermilch. "You know, shame is a gift from God. To let you know right from wrong." Loutermilch was now towering right over Blake and he was petrified. Blake tried not to look at the red mark on his forehead, as it made Loutermilch even scarier. "And what you want is very wrong. Go home and pray."

"Stay! I want you to stay!" implored Jessica.

"Blake, please, this is awkward enough. Nothings the matter but I need you to leave us." said Loutermilch.

"Don't! Don't!" begged Jessica.

Blake wanted to stay. He did not want to leave Jessica. But Loutermilch was pushing him out of the door.

"Walk away, young man. Walk away."

Jessica briefly held Blake's hand but they were forced apart. Blake was so confused as to what was going on, although, judging by Jessica pleading for Blake to stay, and Loutermilch's creepy behaviour, he knew something was wrong. So, Blake would exit and call somebody to help. He ran to the exit and was almost out before he heard a high pitched scream. It was Jessica's! The noise went through him like ice running through his veins. Immediately, he turned back and ran, and saw Jessica running away, screaming "Blake! Blake!" and Father Loutermilch was following her.

There was no time to get help. By then Jessica could possibly be... no, he could not think about it. He sprinted as fast as his little legs could carry him, back through the music class and through the corridor. He heard Jessica shouting. "Just leave me alone!" He was close to Loutermilch now, he could hold him off. He saw him go through a door leading to the stairwell. "Stop!" he yelled. And there was a thud, a scream from Jessica, and silence. Blake stood outside the door, dreading what he would see behind it. He slowly creaked it open. Blake gasped. It was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen...

Jessica was lying on the bottom of the stairs, her face bloody. Her neck was to one side and there was a bruise on it. It looked broken.

"No! NO!" cried Blake. He held Jessica close to him for a few seconds then looked up. There was Father Loutermilch at the top of the stairs, looking down at Blake.

"You killed her!" shouted Blake. "You killed Jess!"

"Blake, listen to me. I did not kill Jessica. Go back to the Music Room, I will explain everything there."

Blake hesitated, but when Loutermilch looked at him warningly, he went. As he entered, he saw some writing on the chalkboard that he hadn't seen before. It read: 'I'm sorry I have to do this. You should have loved me, you should have helped me, Jesus forgive me, I don't know what to do. I'm so so sorry.' Jessica.

Blake read and reread it. What did this mean? At this moment, Father Loutermilch came back through the door. "Blake, I have very bad new-"

"I know what the news is! You killed Jessica!" Blake yelled.

"I assure you, young man, that that is not the case. Due to difficult circumstances, Jessica killed herself. Read the writing on the board. Does that not explain everything?"

"He has a point." thought Blake. Jessica's mother had died and this would make anyone highly depressed. But it still looked like Loutermilch pushed her off the stairs.

"Where is Jessica?" asked Blake

"Follow me, I will show you." said Loutermilch.

Blake followed, back through the long corridor, his face was wet with tears. As he went back to the stairwell, he saw a sight even worse than the first.

Jessica was hanging from a rope, blood dripping off her neck, on to the floor. She dangled limply, and was definitely lifeless.

"But- I saw her on the floor..." stammered Blake.

"I don't know what you think you saw." said Loutermilch. "Blake, get out of the school, call the police and bring them here. They will want to hear from both of us. I'm so sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine how much pain you must be in. Remember, tell the police that Jessica hung herself. Repeat after me, Jessica hung herself."

Blake did not want to say it.

"Blake, realising what happened will help you move on. Jessica hung herself."

"Jessica hung herself..." said Blake eventually. The words didn't belong in his mouth.

"Good." said Loutermilch, looking satisfied. "Run along, Blake and call the police."

Blake ran home, through the snow storm. It was just past 9 o clock now. Finally, he got home. His parents were home now. They would be wondering where he was. But after what he had seen today, that was a small worry. Blake burst through the door.

"Oh, Blake, where were you?" asked his Mom. "We were so wor-"

"Mom, phone the police!"

"Why, son, what happened?" asked his Dad.

"It's Jessica."

"What about her?"

"She's dead!"

"No, that can't be." said Mom, in an exasperated voice. "How?"

"Jessica hung herself." said Blake, for the second time today, the words eating his insides.

"Blake, this is serious. If this is a joke..." said Dad

"It's not a joke!" Blake shouted, tears appearing in his eyes.

"No, I really think he's telling the truth." said Mom. "Call the police. They will probably want to talk to you, Blake."

Blake's father called the police.

"Hello? Yes, there's been a... a suicide? A girl. In St. Sybil School. OK, thank you." he dropped the phone. "They're on their way. We should go too." he put an arm around Blake, and they went out of the front door and into the car.

Nobody spoke on the way there. The Langermanns were so shocked that such a thing had happened. Finally, they arrived at the school. Father Loutermilch was standing at the front gate, talking to a police officer.

"Yes, I was giving two pupils a talk about how they stayed in the building after school, when the girl, Jessica Grey, ran away. By the time I caught up with her, she was hanging from a rope. Oh, here's the other witness! Come over, Blake. Explain what happened to the officers."

Blake took one nervous glance at Father Loutermilch and said plainly, "Jessica hung herself."

"Is that all you can say?" asked the officer, but Loutermilch butted in.

"Officer, please, Blake here has been through a terrible ordeal. I think he should go home."

"Yes, of course. Blake, what is your last name?" asked the officer, with a smile.

"Langermann."

"Thank you. We are sorry to hear about this tragedy. Have a good night."

As soon as Blake got home, he got in bed. He cried himself to sleep. His dreams were all full of Jessica's screams and her hanging body...

The funeral was also a sad affair. Blake wore an all-black suit. This would also be the first time that he would see Lynn since Jessica's suicide. It was not very busy. As soon as Blake entered, he could see Mr. Grey, talking and laughing with his new wife. It seemed as if he didn't care about his daughter's death one bit. Father Loutermilch was also there. He saw Blake and called him over.

"Hello, young man. How are you dealing with all of this?" asked Loutermilch kindly.

Blake didn't answer.

"I understand. Jessica was my favourite student. I am so grief-stricken that I have resigned from St Sybil. I cannot bear to walk the corridors of where such a tragic event occurred." said Loutermilch.

Blake walked away and saw Lynn, who came towards Blake and hugged him, immediately breaking down in tears.

"I can't believe it... Not Jess!" she cried.

The burial was about to begin. People were praying. As Jessica's coffin was lowered, Blake could not bear to watch. He grasped his mother's hand, and they both started crying. And suddenly it dawned on him. Jess was gone. She could never come back. Blake would never hear her sweet voice ever again, teasing him. Neither money nor prayers could bring her back. She was gone... gone forever.


	3. The Last Langermann

After Jessica had died, it was as if Blake started a new life. Blake did not bother making any new friends, so it was just him and Lynn. Nobody could replace Jessica. It was like there was a dark hole inside his life that could not be filled. People treated Blake more kindly after Jessica's death, because, if not, they would get Blake angry. Blake had been short as a nine year old, but fast forward four years, and he was different. He had had a growth spurt, he was tall and had hit his voice break. He was also very sporty, having joined the athletics and soccer team. Nobody crossed him, and there were no incidents. Except one: it was soccer training and Blake was playing defender. He was running after the opposition team's striker, a kid called Brock Andrews. Blake performed a fair slide tackle on him, sending him to the ground. It was not a foul as Blake had got the ball, but Brock thought otherwise.

"Fuck off!" he swore.

"Shut up!" said Blake, walking away.

"Now I know why Jessica Grey hung herself! Because she hung around with you!" yelled Brock.

That done it. The match was forgotten, and Blake ran over to Brock, pinning him to the ground.

"Say that again, you piece of shit!" shouted Blake, punching Brock several times in the face. "Fucking say that again!"

Blake was eventually pulled off Brock and they both got a red card. Blake didn't care and walked back to the changing rooms. After getting changed, he sat alone at the lunch table, until Lynn sought him.

"Hey, I heard what happened, are you okay?" she said consolingly.

"Fuck off." said Blake out of anger, not thinking about it. He regretted it at once.

"Hey!" said Lynn, her tone changing at once. "Don't take that tone with me, Langermann."

"Sorry!" said Blake hastily. "I was just angry at Brock for, y'know, what he said about..."

He couldn't finish the sentence, but Lynn understood. Blake had not thought about it in ages. It was not as if he had forgot about Jess, he visited her grave every single day. But if someone just mentioned it out of the blue, it was hard to put out of his mind.

"So, you still on course for being a cameraman?" said Lynn, changing the subject (though Blake was glad of it.)

"Yup." he said, a little proudly. He had always wanted to be a cameraman. It was one of the things that had never changed about him. "What about you?"

"Me? An investigative journalist." Lynn said, a dazed look about her. It seemed like she was fantasising how amazing it would be to be an investigative journalist.

"Well, I could be your cameraman!" said Blake.

"I'll pass." said Lynn, and they both laughed.

Fast forward another year, and a fourteen year old Blake was hit with another tragedy. His mother had died in a car crash. When Blake heard the news, he did not cry as he had when Jessica died, but did not speak to anybody or get out of his room for a week. Only Lynn dropped in occasionally to console him. What was more, his father had stopped eating, and within a month, he was gone too. That was it. Blake's grief was so hard, that he even contemplated suicide. He had lost Jessica, his mother and his father in just five years. The only reason that he didn't take his own life was that Lynn would not be able to live with herself. He could not see anyway that he could ever be happy again...

Blake was now the Last Langermann. The only person he had left was Lynn. She was more than a friend now, but they spoke as best friends did. She went with Blake to Homecoming and Prom. Blake and Lynn had also graduated high school with excellent grades. Blake was now seventeen years old (almost eighteen) and was now thinking about university. He. and Lynn had both made applications to the University of Colorado, Boulder, for a journalism degree. The whole of July that year was enjoyable, as Blake and Lynn both went to Scotland on holiday. It was a very beautiful country, with great, bustling cities, such as Glasgow and Edinburgh, to lovely highland sceneries up North. It also rained rather frequently, and was much colder than back home, but it was a good experience.

When they both got back, they were now anxiously waiting to see if they had been accepted into the University.

"I'm so nervous..." said Lynn

"If you don't get in and I do, I won't go." said Blake truthfully.

Blake woke up the next morning and checked his email anxiously. He saw the email from the University! He clicked on it, both excited and nervous. He read through and reread. He had got accepted! He lept out of his bed with glee. "Mom and Dad would be so proud." he thought.

Immediately, he phoned Lynn.

"Lynn? Have you got the email? Yeah, I got accepted!"

"Oh, well done." she said, but she sounded sad.

"What about you?" Blake asked nervously.

"I didn't get in..." said Lynn.

Blake could not believe it. He was not going to go without Lynn.

"I'm not going then. Not without you." said Blake.

"Haha!" yelled Lynn. "I was joking, I got accepted. I was just testing you to see if you would go without me!"

Relief flooded through Blake.

"Oh, thank God!" he said.

Blake went to Lynn's house later and talked about the University. It was the best one in Colorado. Lynn's parents congratulated them.

"Oh well done, Blake, we knew you would get in!" said Mrs. Reid affectionately. She was becoming very close to him, seeing as he had lost his own parents. Mr. Reid clapped him on the back. They were both treating him as if he was their own son. He appreciated that. The rest of July was as a lazy summer holiday should be. They would be off to University in September for the first semester. Blake was now happier than he had ever felt after all his tragedies. He had got accepted into a great University and was going to pursue his career. And he had Lynn with him to support him. He was a little bit nervous, but Lynn was really excited, and her excitement projected back onto him. It was as if it was contagious!


	4. Marriage

It was September of 2003, and it was the start of the first semester. Blake drove to the University with Lynn, feeling very mature for some reason. He wondered who would be his roommate. "Better be someone good." he thought. He was generally a clean person and could not share a room with slobs or messy people. And sharing a room would be strange, as he was an only child. As though she had read his mind, Lynn said. "So, you excited to find out who your roommate is?"

"Kinda. But usually I like to sleep on my own." said Blake

"I can't wait!" said Lynn excitedly.

"Yeah, I can tell." said Blake, and they both laughed.

Finally, they arrived at the University. It was beautiful. It was right next to the Green Mountains, so it had a lovely view.

"This is going to be great." said Lynn.

"Yeah." said Blake vaguely, as he was in awe of the building, and he wasn't paying attention.

After roaming around the University, they found out who they would be sharing their room with. Blake found out that it was a guy called Miles Upshur, who was also looking for a journalism degree.

"Hi." said Blake, when he first met him.

"Sup." he said, shaking his hands.

"I'm Blake Langerm-"

"Yeah, I know." said Miles, a little bit rudely.

"And you must be Miles Upshur?" asked Blake.

"No, I'm Michael Jackson, what do you think." he said sarcastically.

Blake thought that he was kind of rude, and he seemed like he might be a slob. He was a little bit shorter than him, maybe five foot eleven inches. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and looked laid back.

Apparently, Lynn's roommate was a bore, and when Blake told her that Miles was messy, always ate pizza and swore a lot, she was eager to meet him.

"Come on, I can meet Miles, and you can meet my roommate, Emily!"

"Fine." Blake agreed, though reluctantly.

He went back to his room, where he found Miles eating chips.

"Miles, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Sure thing, Langermann." he said.

He followed him out, then they saw Lynn. She waved cheerily at them. Miles grinned back.

"This is Lynn Reid, my... friend." said Blake, without enthusiasm.

"Don't be stupid, Blake." Lynn said. "I'm his girlfriend!" she told Miles. "So, sorry, I'm all taken." she said, wrapping herself around Blake's arms. Miles and Blake both chuckled at this. "Blake, meet Emily, my roommate."

"Hi." said Blake

"Hello." she said.

There was an awkward pause, then Blake pretended to go on his phone, while Emily pretended to read a book. Lynn and Miles were both chatting animatedly with wach other. Blake felt a twinge of jealousy, but he knew Lynn would never leave him like that.

"It's late, we should get going." said Blake.

"Bye Lynn." he said, hugging her.

"See ya!" she said, leaving with Emily.

Blake and Miles walked back to their room. As they got in, Miles spoke to Blake.

"Listen, Langermann. We should just be... friends. Because I wanna stay friends with Lynn, and you are her boyfriend. Y'know, so we can get rid of the awkwardness."

"Why dont you start using my first name, Upshur." said Blake, putting particular emphasis on the last word.

Miles looked like he was going to shout, but he said. "OK, let's start over. I'm Miles Upshur, eighteen years old." he shook hands with Blake.

"And I am Blake Langermann, almost eighteen years old."

And from then on, they became good friends. Blake tolerated Miles' messiness, and realised that he was quite a funny guy.

The next few years of university went by as normal university years would do. At their graduation, Blake was so full of emotion. He couldn't believe that when he was fourteen, he was full of tragedy, and even thought about suicide, but now here he was, graduating from university. He thought what it would be like if Jessica was still here. It had been thirteen years since that tragedy, and eight years since his parents' death. His parents would be so proud to see him right now. They had made him who he was. He couldn't stop the tears that leaked out of his eyes.

When Blake was twenty five, he was thinking about marriage. He and Lynn had both got a job at News Tomorrow. He was her cameraman (as they had joked about years before) and she was a journalist. Blake sincerely loved her. He just hoped that she would feel the same. He asked Miles for advice, because even though he was single, he seemed like he knew better when it came to girls.

"Hey, Miles. I have an... um... important question."

"Is it about you wanting to ask Lynn to marry you?" he said straight away.

"What?" said Blake, taken aback. "Er... how do you know?"

"Instinct." he said simply. "OK, just get it over with. Pluck up the courage and ask her, pussy! She's bound to say yes, I know she likes you. Loves you."

"It's not that easy!" said Blake indignantly.

"You better have done it by tonight, man." he said, hanging up the phone.

Blake contemplated for a moment, before getting in his car, and driving to Lynn's. He rang the doorbell, attempted to smooth his hair, and she answered.

"Hi Blake." said Lynn. "Come in."

"Listen. I have an important question." he knelt down on one knee, and pulled out a box with a ring in it. He had bought this a few days ago. Lynn squealed and covered her face with her hands. "Will you, Lynn Reid, do me the honour of marrying me?"

"Oh my God, Blake, I'm so sorry. I'm already engaged!"

"What?! You never told me?"

"Meet my fiancé." she said.

And Miles walked into the hallway.

"Hello, Langermann."

"Miles?" said Blake, surprised.

"Yup. Me and Lynn just got engaged yesterday." he said, putting an arm around Lynn.

"Oh." said Blake, heartbroken. "Well, I guess I'll be going." said Blake, putting on a fake smile as he walked out of the door.

"Hey, silly, come back." said Lynn. "It's a prank. I'll marry you!" said Lynn earnestly.

"Really?" said Blake, relief flooding through him.

"Yes." she said, wrapping her arms around him. Miles whooped, and also gave Blake a hug.

"Congratulations, guys. So... who's gonna be the best man?" he said.

"Not you, that's for sure." said Blake sarcastically, and they all laughed.

Blake felt like the happiest man on earth. A year later, and they were all preparing for the wedding. It would be on July 12th. There was a month left until the wedding, and everybody was frantically getting prepared. Blake was kind of nervous, and he didn't like to go clothes shopping, but he needed to. He went with Miles, who would be their best man. He seemed to have a better taste in clothes, and liked to shop for them, the exact opposite of Blake.

"How about this?" pointed Blake.

"This is 2013, not 1913. Get with the times, Grandpa." said Miles savagely.

He finally picked his suit, and it looked good. He was extremely nervous now. In the last few weeks, Blake and Miles spent time together, while Lynn was spending time with her family.

"I haven't met your parents, Miles." Blake said.

"Oh... um, I haven't seen them in... nine years." he said, sounding uncharacteristically sad. Blake had never seen him sad.

"Oh, I'm sorry. May their soul rest in peace." he said.

"They're not dead!" Miles said impatiently.

"Whoops. Sorry. Then why haven't you seen them in so long?" asked Blake.

"I ran away at sixteen." said Miles.

"Oh. Why?"

"Well, they didn't agree with my interests in being a journalist. We always had arguments and fights, and I just couldn't stand it. So I ran away."

"Where to?"

"My uncle's place. He kept me until I went to University." said Miles.

"I know what you feel like." said Blake. "But, I think you should talk to your parents while they're still here. Because, what if... something bad happened and the last thing you said to them was something hurtful?"

"OK, I'll bring them to your wedding."

"Sounds good!" said Blake, giving Miles a swift hug.

Blake had no cousins, as, like him, his parents had no siblings. So Blake regarded Miles like a brother. He wondered if Miles was in a relationship. He seemed like more of a 'love 'em and leave 'em' type of guy.

It was wedding day. Blake had butterflies in his stomach, but Miles looked excited. The ceremony was about to begin. Lynn's father escorted Lynn out of the car, and they both walked towards Blake. She looked simply stunning. The priest then said, "Do you, Blake Joseph Langermann, take Lynn Jane Reid, as your loving wife?"

"I do."

"And do you, Lynn Jane Reid, take Blake Joseph Langermann, as your loving husband?"

"I do."

"Then I pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!"

Everyone clapped as Blake and Lynn kisses. Her lips were soft and warm. They looked at each other, then laughed. They then went to enjoy the celebrations.

"Well done, tiger." said Miles, clapping him on the back. "Meet my parents."

"Hello, I'm Amy Upshur." said a pleasant-looking woman, shaking Blake's hand.

"Hello, son. James Upshur here!" said a jolly man, grasping Blake's hand firmly. "You must be Blake... Larkerman-?" he said uncertainly.

"Langermann." corrected Blake. Then they laughed.

"Thank you." said Mrs. Upshur. "Miles told me that you told him to meet us. So I guess it's all thanks to you that we're speaking again. It's been nine years, so we have a lot to catch up on! Congratulations!" the Upshurs walked away looking very happy.

Blake was so happy that he would now spend his whole life with Lynn. There was just one nagging thought in his head. He wondered how Jessica felt, looking down on them. Lynn had used to say that Jessica had always had a crush on him. But what was he supposed to do? Obviously, he was still going to get married. But there was a tiny ounce of guilt inside him, and he didn't know why.


	5. Miles Away

It was September of 2013, two months since Blake's wedding. Their honeymoon had been a trip to the Maldives. It was a beautiful place, with clear, blue seas, and matching skies. When they got back, Miles had some news.

"Hey, guys, listen to this."

"What?" said Lynn eagerly.

"OK, so I've got a journalist report somewhere, and guess where it is." said Miles, trying to contain his excitement.

"Where?" asked Blake.

"Mount Massive Asylum!" said Miles.

"Cool!" said Lynn.

"The one next to Mount Massive?" said Blake.

"No, the one in India, of course it's the one next to Mount Massive!" said Miles sarcastically. "The report is tonight. A company called Murkoff are the ones that own it."

"Yeah, I've heard of them, they're a really big company."

"But lemme show you the email. This is confidential so don't go telling anyone!"

He opened his laptop and showed us. The email read:

September 17, 2013

From:

To:

Subject: TIP / Illegal Activity at Murkoff Psychiatric Systems

You don't know me. Have to make this quick. They might be monitoring.

I did 2 weeks of software consult at MURKOFF Psychiatric Systems' facilities in Mount Massive. All sorts of NDA's I am very much breaking right now but seriously, fuck those guys.

Terrible things happening there. Don't understand it. Don't believe half the things I saw. Doctors talking about dream therapy going too deep, finding something that had been waiting for them in the mountain. People are being hurt and Murkoff is making money.

It needs to be exposed.

"So, this person who works there is telling me to come and investigate the Asylum!" said Miles.

"So, they emailed you today, literally an hour ago, and you're going today?" exclaimed Blake.

"I'm leaving in an hour! I've got my camera, which has night vision, my pen, my book for notes, and my phone. I'm all set!" said Miles.

"Miles, this place might be dangerous. The person who emailed you said that people were getting hurt." said Blake.

"Oh, he'll be fine!" said Lynn.

Miles was about to leave.

"Good luck, man. Take care." said Blake concernedly.

He hugged both of them, and got into his car.

"I'll be back in a few hours, the place isn't far from here. I'll phone you when I get back." said Miles, and he drove away.

The hours passed by, and it was now almost midnight. Miles had still not phoned, and he also wasn't picking up his phone.

"Lynn, I'm worried. Miles hasn't phoned me yet, and he's not picking up."

"Blake, he'll be fine. Just get some sleep, and tomorrow he'll be annoying us about his crazy adventure."

Blake went to bed, but lay awake for a good hour. He was really worried. He managed to get some sleep, and he woke up at nine. He had a normal morning, then realised that he had forgot about Miles. He checked his phone. He had no missed calls. He phoned him. No answer. Where was he?

Once Lynn had woken up, Blake told her that Miles still hadn't phoned.

"Blake, you worry too much! He probably came home, forgot to phone you, and fell asleep. He's a late riser, give it a few hours."

Blake relaxed at these reassuring words. Miles was forgetful, so he must have forgot to phone Blake. He also probably fell asleep and is still sleeping. Blake felt happier, and flicked on the television. He looked at the news, and gasped when he saw the main headline. It read:

Mount Massive Asylum burned down

"Oh fuck!" said Blake.

"What is it?" asked Lynn.

Blake was lost for words. He just pointed at the T.V. with his mouth open.

Lynn shrieked.

"Mount Massive Asylum has been burned down by priest who nailed himself to a cross and burned himself." said the news reporter. "Everybody who was in the Asylum has, unfortunately, been pronounced dead. Some bodies are missing, but everyone has been presumed dead."

"Oh, shit!" said Lynn. "Do you think his parents know?"

"I dunno..." said Blake vaguely. He could not have lost Miles. He was one of his best friends. "I'll phone them." He picked up his phone. "Hello? Hi, Mr. Upshur, its Blake here."

"A little bit early, don't you think, son?" said Mr. Upshur groggily.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I have some bad news."

"First, lemme ask you something more important. Have you seen Miles? He hasn't phoned to tell us that he's back from his report."

Blake did not know what to say. How was he going to break it to him? He looked at Lynn, but she was looking away, sobbing silently.

"Yeah, the bad news is about... Miles." said Blake.

"What? What is it, son, tell me." said Mr. Upshur, sounding more awake.

"Miles is... he's passed away."

"What? No, you must be joking." said Mr. Upshur, laughing incredulously. "Nice prank, son, but let me get some shut-eye."

"I'm serious!" said Blake urgently.

"How?" said Mr. Upshur, still sounding disbelieving.

"Just... look at the news." said Blake, starting to weep as well.

He heard a T.V. being turned on, and a gasp of surprise.

"Oh, Jesus God! Amy, wake up!" said Mr. Upshur, and then the call ended.

Blake just sat down, rubbing his eyes. Miles had died, and in one of the most horrific ways. Blake and Lynn did not talk that much for the rest of the day. They just cried and held each other. She was the only one Blake had left...


	6. The Crash

After the death of Miles, Blake and Lynn remained quite saddened. There was no body to bury, as Miles had most likely died in a fire. The only thing positive was that the company running the asylum (Murkoff Corporation) were exposed by an anonymous person online. Blake had saw the footage, and it was horrifying. The place was full of blood and guts, the walls coated with it. The man who uploaded the footage seemed to have went through alot. He had almost got burned alive by a cannibal, and almost had his genitals chopped off by a crazy man trying to make him his wife. He escaped with a broken leg and a stab wound. He was in the asylum at the same time as Miles, as he took his Jeep to escape. Blake wondered wether Miles went through the same horrors.

It was now 2016, and Blake was now twenty-nine years old. It had been over two years since Miles' death. One day, Lynn had some news for him.

"Hey, Blake. News Tomorrow want us to do a report on the 22nd of April."

"What's it about?" asked Blake.

"It's about a pregnant woman, known only as Jane Doe, who was murdered in rural Arizona. She was found and took to a hospital, where she died, but she gave birth to a healthy baby boy." explained Lynn

"That's dark." said Blake.

"Anyway, we'll get there by helicopter. We'll probably arrive at night."

"Sounds good!" said Blake. He was excited.

On the day of his departure, Blake checked if he had all the essentials.

"OK, camera, microphone, phone, pen and paper. I think we're all set!" said Blake.

When they got into the helicopter, the pilot greeted them enthusiastically. "Hello! You must be the Langermanns. I'm Tom Harper."

He was a kind-looking man, with a beard. He was partially bald, and had glasses. He extended his hand. Blake took it, and said. "Hi, I'm Blake, and this is my wife Lynn."

"The flight is about four hours long, so we'll arrive around nine-ish." said Tom.

The scenery was breathtaking as they entered Arizona. Blake was a little bit tired, and fell asleep.

"Please Blake." said a voice. It was a familiar voice. He could not see, only hear.

"Where are you? I'm scared."

This was Jessica's voice!

"He's coming!" Blake heard footsteps.

"AHHH! HE'S HERE! GET AWAY! FAST! AHHHH!"

He awoke abruptly.

"Jesus Blake, are you really sleeping?" said Lynn.

"I'm awake."

"You should have slept last night."

"I had to get that hospital footage organised." he explained.

"You were calling out another woman's name." said Lynn.

"What?"

"In your sleep. Jessica, I think."

Blake looked away, pretending to look out the window. It was completely dark now.

"You know a Jessica?" Lynn asked.

"No... I mean. I was dreaming about Jessica Gray. From when we were kids."

"Oh, yeah, I haven't thought about her in ages." Lynn said, now looking uncomfortable.

"Hey, we're crossing into reservation land now, you said I'm looking for some sort of factory?" asked Tom.

"Yeah." said Blake.

"We can look, but there's nothing out here." said Tom.

"It does look pretty empty." Blake agreed.

"All the mercury in that women's blood." said Lynn "She had to have spent at least a decade downstream from some pretty heavy industry."

"If you say so, ma'am, you bought the time." said Tom.

"We should record an intro while we're up here." suggested Lynn. "Production value?"

"Sure." said Blake.

"Can't work my diaphragm with this thing on." said Lynn agitatedly.

"Audio's gonna be crap. We'll have to- Oh. The fuck?" the helicopter had had a sudden lurch, and Blake's glasses fell off.

"Sorry about that!" apologised Tom. "Left panel's a little soft, but uh, w- we're good!"

"That was exciting." said Lynn, though Blake remained apprehensive.

Blake reached for his camera.

"Try to get as much of the landscape behind me as you can. You got me?"

"Yeah, we're good."

"Hummmm. Hummmm. Red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather. Have a soo pie, have a soo pie. BRBRBR. Ok." she began. "I'm Lynn Langermann, here for News Tomorrow dot net. We're flying past the Havasupai Indian Reservation in Central Arizona, in search for the origins of murder victim Jane Doe."

"Hey, Lynn, I don't think we should say 'murdered'. We don't know that."

"Oh, I'll say she strangled herself to death!" Lynn said sarcastically.

"It's what the police report says." said Blake.

"Blake, we might play this before the doctor interview. If this falls in the first thirty, we need to get the word murder in there. We should probably mention the fetus too, I mean how it just..." she broke off. "Here, let me try a version that can serve as an intro for the whole piece. Tell me when we're good."

"OK, we're good."

"Two weeks ago, a young woman was found wandering, barefoot, pregnant and alone, on a barren stretch of highway a hundred miles from the nearest- Oh!" there was a blinding white light, and the helicopter spun off course.

"What the fuck?!" yelled Blake.

"We lost the engine!' shouted Tom. "Fuck! Fuck!"

The helicopter door fell out, and Lynn almost went with it, but he grabbed her just in time. "I've got you!"

"Helicopter N519JC going down! Mayday, mayday!" shouted Tom. 1000 feet! 800!

"Please Blake, I don't want to die!" cried Lynn

"500! 400! 300! 200! 100!"

"Don't let go! LYNN!" Blake screamed. And he was plunged into nothingness, and could see no more.


	7. Welcome to Temple Gate

Blake opened his eyes. He was in a school. He knew exactly what school it was. He walked forwards, and a locker opened. Inside, there was a medal that read: To Jessica. 1st Place. There were also pictures of children, two girls and a boy. He kept on walking, and turned right. He saw a tall figure walking away from him. He followed. The man went through double doors. Blake approached the doors, but they slammed shut, and pushed him back. He spun round, and saw a girl with blonde hair, humming. A wave of blood swept over him, and he heard a girl's voice. "You're not alone here."

Blake woke up. He was lying on the floor, and the helicopter door was on top of him. He pushed it off and stood up. He could see the helicopter. It was in flames! Thankfully, his camera had landed right next to him. He picked it up.

"Fuck. Lynn. Lynn!"

He was on the edge of a cliff, and started to make his way down. He approached the helicopter and recorded it.

"Jesus. Is...? No, there's no bodies. She's not in here. Lynn! Lynn!"

He saw a light and ran towards it. But as soon as he got near it, he repulsed. Tom the pilot was hanging from a log, his guts and innards showing. He had been skinned alive.

"Oh, fuck me. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! That did not happen in the crash. Fuck this!" he exclaimed. "Lynn." he said, and ran down a narrow path in between two mountains.

He slid down, and saw a building next to a windmill.

"A town, oh thank God. I thought we were miles from anything." he said, confused as to why this town was in the middle of nowhere, but grateful that he could seek help easily.

Blake knocked on the first door.

"Hello? I'm lost. And hurt!"

No one answered. Blake tried the door, but it was locked.

He walked past the windmill and into the town. He went inside the first house, where he saw a man sitting down on a table.

"Hey. Hey man! Oh... shit, you're... this just happened." Blake realised that he was dead, and it looked as if it had just happened. He exited the house and continued walking, where he saw a man looking at him. As soon as Blake looked at him, he started to walk backwards.

"Liar and father of lies. Liar and father of lies." he said.

"Who's...?"

Blake was now scared. This town did not seem right at all. There was a dead cow that stunk. He saw another man carrying a large machete, and he ran away as soon as Blake started towards him. Blake continued to follow him, but he had disappeared. Blake opened a window, and a crow flew out, making him jump.

"Shit..." He walked in, unlocked a door then went through. There was a fence with a hole in it, so he crouched through that. He heard a scream, and started to run down a dark path. He turned on his night vision on his camera to guide him. He saw a building that had stairs leading down. There were words written on top of the entrance.

"Satanas inimica Dei. Satan something God." Blake read. He walked down the stairs, where there was a bloody cradle, and cracked dolls. He turned right and saw something extremely messed up. There were dead children, about twenty, laying on the floor. There was a hole in the roof that was shaped like a cross, so the moonlight shining in made a cross shape where the dead children lay.

"God..." said Blake, disturbed.

The only way across was to walk across the bodies, so Blake, eyes closed, trod over the bodies. They made a sickening crunching noise that made him cringe. He walked up more stairs and found some swings and a rocking horse. He saw a fence that had a small space underneath it, where he crawled through. It was eerily silent. He walked forwards and saw a broken down shack. Then he heard a voice.

"In the book of life of the lamb slain."

It was the most horrifying voice he had ever heard. It was a woman's, though it was so deep and croaky.

"The legion fettered every man chained."

Blake walked forwards when he heard a scream. He saw a lady carrying a massive pickaxe run towards him. She was about seven feet tall! He ran back around the shack, and she followed. He then ran in the direction that she had come from. There was a locked gate that led into a barn, but there was a crawl space underneath it. He quickly crawled through, and gasped frantically.

He saw a broken ladder, so he stood on a small trolley to climb up instead. Then he heard that woman's voice again.

"Do you hate him, God? Do you hate him?"

He crawled forward on the roof of the barn. Then, a piece of wood split, and he fell down. His glasses had fell off, and when he put them back on and stood up, he saw the woman looking at him through barbed wire. She had black hair and the most pale face he had ever seen.

"God, do you want him?" she said.

"Oh, Jesus. Who's...?" he said, startled

"Then you'll have him." she said, walking backwards.

"God wants me dead? Okay." he said, confused.

He got out of the barn and went into a house through a window. He was about to leave through the door, but then stopped. He used his microphone to see if there was anyone outside. He could hear some rustling. He waited for a minute, before leaving. He saw a man rocking on his chair, singing.

"Come from the loathsome way of sin, hide you in Ezekiel's blood."

Blake didn't know where he was going, but just ran. He heard a man shout.

"There's the outsider!"

Blake didn't look back, but kept running. Then he saw a blinding white light, and people running towards him. The light made a noise like a horn. The people stopped, and acted as if he was not there.

"Oh, no daddy. Daddy, help. Fire... the lamp spilled, daddy. Please! Daddy, oh God."

"The fuck was that?" said Blake.

He ran past them, and then saw a large church. He also heard a man speaking through a megaphone.

"Do you hate us, God? Do you hate this world? And, do you know what God says?"

Blake found a hole in a fence that was surrounding the church and crouched through it.

"We stand in oppositon to the Antichrist!" the man shouted.

"He must be crazy." Blake thought.

The man kept rambling on, then Blake heard him say.

"And now God has sent us this woman!"

"Lynn!" said Blake.

He had Lynn. Blake tried the main doors where he could hear people, but it was locked. He went down into the cellar, and found people imprisoned in cages.

"Take the gag off." said the man.

Then he heard Lynn's voice. "Please! Listen to me! We crashed, we-"

Blake found a key and took it. He crawled through a space in between some cages, when someone with a bloody face reached out and grabbed him.

"Help me! You gotta help me!"

Blake shrugged him off and unlocked a door. He saw a portrait of a fat man, with a halo on his head. As he climbed a ladder and opened a trapdoor, he saw the same painting. He wondered if this was the same man who was speaking through the megaphones. He looked like a priest of some sort, maybe the leader of the town.

"She is ripe with the antichrist! The enemy waits in her womb!"

"What the fuck is he talking about?" Blake thought.

"Whore to satan! Whore to harlots and other horrors of the Earth!"

"Shit..." said Blake, running up some stairs and unlocking a door.

"Get your fucking hands off me!" he heard Lynn shout. There was a thud, and a grunt. Blake found an open window from where he saw Lynn jump out off.

"Lynn!" Blake said, jumping out of a window.

"Oh God, Blake." she said, as he approached her.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

"What the fuck?" he exclaimed.

"I don't know. Oh shit, we have to run." she said, as a man looked out of a window and walked away.

They slid down some rocks, and took each other's hands.

"Lynn, where are we going?" he asked.

"Away from here. Anyway from here."

They broke into a run, then Lynn stopped.

"Ah! Oh God- my stomach. It hurts! Something's wrong. Fuck... I have to stop... I just... I need..."

They stopped next to a tree.

"Jesus Christ, Lynn. What's happening here?" asked Blake incredulously.

"I thought you were dead. When you fell, I thought we were all dead."

"It's OK, I'm here. We're gonna get out of here, OK. What did they do to you?" he asked.

"Please, Blake, don't ask me." then the priest started speaking out of the microphone again. "They're coming. They're coming!" said Lynn hysterically.

They kept on walking, then Blake heard the priest again. "She has a child in her belly!" he shouted.

"What?" said Blake.

"I don't know. He's insane. They're all fucking insane."

"Lynn, are you pregnant? What the fuck is going on."

"I... I can't. Not now. Please, Blake, let's just get out of here." said Lynn in an exasperated voice.

"OK... yeah." Blake said. The questions could wait.

They kept on walking until they saw flashlights.

"Stay back!" Lynn shouted.

"We'll be gentle." said one of the men.

"I swear to fucking Christ, the first person who touches me loses their eyes!" said Lynn savagely.

"God wants the child. God wants the child. God wants the child!" they chorused, then one of them punched Blake and pinned him to the ground, while another two had Lynn in a headlock.

"Lynn! Fuck! Get off me! Get off me!"

"Blake!" Lynn screamed.

"Heretics!" said one of the men, sounding scared.

The man had let go of Blake, so he made to stand up, but was pinned down by some weird blueish creature with branches sticking out of their heads. Then a person, woman or man, he didn't know, went towards the man who had Lynn pinned down and gouged out his eyes.

"I watched my father fuck your God to death." she said.

She bent over Lynn.

"Blake!" she yelled.

"You leave her alone! Leave her alone!" Blake shouted.

The person then licked Lynn.

"Hush." she said, then she put pressure on her neck, making her pass out. "Take her home. I want to share my love with the father."

She walked towards Blake.

"Motherfucker!" Blake said.

"God doesn't love you. Not like I do." she said, then she licked Blake twice. "Yes my love?" she said, speaking to the creatures. "Ah, we have mother." she stroked Blake's face. "I think I'll see you again." then she stood up and walked away. Blake made to stand up, but one of the creatures punched him in the face. Blake picked up his camera. Lynn was gone, and the two men were dead.

"Oh, shit, Lynn! Oh God... Lynn!"


	8. The Journey to the Chapel

Blake walked forwards into the darkness. His vision was blurry, and he was slightly disappointed with himself. He had lost Lynn not even five minutes after he had found her. He thought about what had just happened.

"The fuck were they? Called them heretics. They called Lynn... mother. It's not just the cult, it's two sides. Christians and... something else."

He ended up in a small pond and saw a few flashlights. He hid underneath the water and when it was safe, checked some houses. There were some batteries and bandages. When he went in the last house, there was the blinding white light again. He guarded his face, and when he removed his arm, he was in complete darkness. He turned on his night vision, and saw that he was in a classroom.

"What the hell? I'm dreaming. Or out of my fucking mind."

He went through a door and ended up in a brightly lit classroom.

"Music Class!" he said.

He saw a chalkboard, and there was writing on it. He read it aloud.

"'I'm sorry I have to do this, you should have loved me, you should have helped me. Jesus forgive me, I don't know what to do. I'm so so sorry. Jessica' I remember this!" he said.

He walked up to the teacher's desk, and he saw a picture. He picked it up. It was a picture of him as a kid, with two girls.

"Jessica? And Lynn? When we were... Oh, fuck. I'm back into fourth grade. And here I thought this couldn't get any worse."

Another door had appeared in the class, and Blake went through it. It took him into a long corridor. The exit was at the end of it. He walked towards it, but then a figure appeared. It was a man. He looked at Blake, then started running towards him. He got close to him, but then dissapeared. The walls were pulsating. Blake ran to the exit, and went outside. It was snowing like crazy, and was very dark. When he got to the gates, the door opened. He went through it.

He fell through the floor, hitting his head off the ground a few times, and landed hard on the ground. His glasses had come off but they miraculously remained intact. Then he realized that he was back in the desert! He sat on the ground, trying to remain conscious. Then he heard footsteps. He looked up, and a man was peering down at him. He had brown hair, brown eyes and a stubbly beard.

"You're him, ain't you? The outsider. Knoth's eye, they killed you, didn't they." he had a gravelly voice.

"No. Not yet." responded Blake.

"Well, they'll do it if they find you out here." said the man, extending a hand. "Come on."

Blake took his hand, and the man pulled him up. Blake was suspicious. This could easily be a trap. But what other choice did he have?

"Who are you?" Blake asked.

"My name's Ethan." he replied, starting to walk forwards. Blake followed him.

"But I mean... Are you one of them? And which side are you on?" questioned Blake.

"You mean why ain't I trying to kill you?" said Ethan.

"Well, that was a good way to put it, seeing as everyone I've met so far has tried to kill me." thought Blake.

"I been... unborn. Seen too much to keep the faith."

"But you're not one of those other ones? The... heretics?" asked Blake.

"Didn't say squat when my wife got scalled, had to get cast out. Didn't complain when Knoth pressed himself on my Anna Lee. And she not but fifteen." said Ethan.

"I'm sorry." said Blake, disgusted. Blake guessed that Knoth was the leader of the cult.

"But when he said my grandson, the baby he'd put in her, was might the antichrist and I had to slit her belly and kill the child!" said Ethan.

Blake was utterly speechless.

They had stopped outside a building, which Blake took was Ethan's house.

"I gave her chance to run. "Spun them idiots some stories. I've been gifted with talk my whole life." he said, starting to walk into his house. "You probably noticed."

Then Blake realised something.

"Jane Doe." Blake blurted out.

"Sorry?" said Ethan.

"Your daughter? She was eight months pregnant? Blonde hair cut like a boy's?"

"Yeah. Wh- what do you know? You seen her?" asked Ethan hopefully.

"It's why we came here." said Blake.

"Is she all right? Please, mister, just tell me she's okay." pleaded Ethan.

Even though Blake knew that she had died, he could not bring himself to say it.

"Sh- she's fine." he lied.

"Oh, thank God." said Ethan, looking relieved. "Oh, thank God and God bless you. Come on, get you inside."

Blake followed Ethan in through the door. He now fully trusted him, although he was not quite sure why. As Blake walked in, he felt a sharp pain in his head.

"Ah!" he groaned.

"Woah... Woah, hey there. You really busted your head open, didn't you?" said Ethan.

"I'll be okay. I..." stammered Blake.

"Head down into the root cellar." said Ethan, opening a trapdoor. "I got a bed down there."

Blake climbed down a ladder.

"It's all right, you just relax here, I'll keep you safe." said Ethan, closing the trapdoor. "You rest up, and heal. Ethan's gonna treat you right."

There was a bandage, which Blake picked up. He settled himself down on his bed. He was extremely tired. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"Please Blake. Where are you? I'm scared." said a girl's voice. "He's coming. AHHH! HE'S HERE! GET AWAY! FAST! AHHHH!"

Blake woke abruptly.

"I ain't hiding nothing." he heard Ethan say from above him.

"Righteousness cannot pass in blood by loins, but by the blood of your heart." said another voice. It was horribly familiar. It belonged to that lady with the pickaxe!

"I ken Papa's gospel. I copied 'em a hunnert times." Ethan said frantically. "If I knew where the outsider was-"

"The Prophet don't need your help in finding the Devil's whore and her rut-mate. Knoth questions even know other heretics at chapel. God'll guide him." said the woman.

"I ain't a heret-" Ethan was cut off as the lady swung her pickaxe which went right through Ethan's table. Blake was watching through the broken floorboards. The lady now pinned Ethan against a wooden pillar with her pickaxe.

"You sinned when you denied the Prophet your daughter! You sinned since to deny it."

"Please!" gasped Ethan.

"You know where the outsider is! His seed begat the enemy! God and the Prophet both want his blood!" she screamed.

"Just lemme talk to Knoth- I can explain!" cried Ethan.

"God don't hear dead men." said the lady, and she ran her pickaxe right through Ethan's stomach.

"Be still!" she said, throwing him onto the floor. "Take your penance!" Ethan took his final rasping breaths. "God loves you. God loves you." For a moment, Blake thought she had seen him, but she yielded her pickaxe once more and stabbed Ethan right through the back. "Catamite to the Devil." she said, and she went out of the house."

"I hope you found your daughter." said Blake, horrified, as he tore off the wooden planks to get out of the cellar. He looked down at Ethan's mangled body. "You didn't give me up to her. Even though she... Thank you."

Blake left Ethan's house. He sort of had a plan. He would go to the chapel. Maybe somebody there would have an idea of Lynn's whereabouts.

He swam across a small body of water and found his way into a cornfield. He saw flashlights, but no one seemed to have noticed him. He climbed a fence and found a barn. He hid under a tractor, waiting for the men to dissapear. As soon as they left, he pushed a trolley to a broken ladder and climbed up. He pulled a chain to open the gate, and a skinned body was hanging from a hook. Blake walked across a narrow wooden beam and looked down. There was a pile of bodies and guts. He was about to jump down, when he heard someone say "Take it! Take it!" and the next thing he saw was the skinned body in his face, and he fell into the bodies lying on the floor.

"Ugh!" his hands were extremely dirty. He followed a path, until he saw that same blinding white light, and heard the noise that sounded like a fog horn. Again, he shielded his face. And suddenly, birds fell from the sky, lifeless.

"The fuck was that?" Blake said.

He climbed a few rocks, and went inside a dark cave. It opened up at a strange temple.

"A church. No... no. It's some kind of heretic temple."

He walked along the path, the walls ridden with dead bodies. Then he saw something that made him freeze. A girl, wearing a uniform, was hanging from a tree. "No! No!" Blake heard. He got his camera and zoomed in and saw her face. It was Jessica's! Blake went around the tree to get a closer look, but she had dissapeared. Blake was extremely confused.

Blake slipped through a crack, and as he scaled down a hill, listened to Knoth rambling on.

"Any heretic God delivers to you, bind in withs and bring to the chapel. We will root out the outsider whore who's brought this darkness to our good Earth. Tribulations are upon us, and we must make ready for righteous violence in the name of the Lord! Pray and hold fast, God loves you."

Blake could see the chapel. He went in a house near a river, and walked up two floors. There was a balcony that he jumped out of, and outside of it, there was an elevator. Blake tried it, but it wasn't working.

"They gotta have a... power generator or something. If the fucking thing doesn't run on prayers."

Blake made his way through the village, but didn't dare to go into any houses. Halfway up a hill, he saw a sign that said: POWER GENERATOR ROOM.

After climbing some stairs in a building, he found the generator, and pulled it three times. The electricity was now on. All he had to do was find his way back. When he turned round, a lady was standing there, just staring at him. Blake jumped.

"Agh!" she walked away. "Oh, fuck me."

He waited for her to walk down the steps, and then she started singing. Blake seized this chance to run. What was weird, he saw the villagers running back in their houses.

"It's Marta! Come on!"

"Knoth's eye, it's her!"

Blake kept on walking, until he ran into that pickaxe lady once again.

"This way is forgiveness!" she said.

Blake ran back the way he came, looped her around a fence, and made his way into the elevator.

"Papa, I have sinned in failure." Marta said.

"What do you want from me?!" Blake shouted, as the elevator went up.

There was a well, and Blake could hear singing.

"Oh, be careful little eyes what you see..." it sang.

"Jessica? I've lost it." said Blake.

He walked towards the well and peered down into it. Then suddenly, a pink tongue shot up, wrapping itself around Blake's neck and pulling him into the well.

Blake yelled, and hit something hard. It was pitch black. He turned on his night vision. Somehow he was in a vent. He crawled forward, and then heard a voice.

"Please Blake." it was Jessica's voice! Blake heard some banging and a scream.

"Don't let this happen. I'm scared."

Then the vent broke, and Blake plummeted down. He was in a classroom.

"We're not alone here." said Jessica's voice.

Blake stood up. He went outside into a dark corridor. He turned on his night vision, and tried all the doors, but they were all locked. Then he heard laughing. A man's voice. There were many lockers, and one opened. He looked inside.

There was a music box. Blake turned it, and realised.

"This was Jessica's."

So this must be her locker. There were some books and a letter that she had wrote to Lynn. Blake walked forwards, then a door opened, and a girl ran into it.

"Blake!" she said.

"Jessica?"

He followed into a room, and there was another door leading into a lit hallway. He saw Jessica run past it, screaming. Blake ran into the hallway, and saw Jessica, hanging from the ceiling. There was a black mist above her.

When he got close, a pink tongue came from the mist, and scooped her up.

"Oh God... Jess..." Blake said.

Hands were protruding from the mist, six hands. When Blake went underneath them, they dissappeared. There was a door that led into Music Class. Blake opened it, and was in a wooden room with a bed full of blood and guts. Then a man ran towards him, growling.

"Father to the beast!" he shouted, punching Blake hard in the face. "I'll bleed you in the yard!" he pushed Blake down some stairs. He was carrying a large machete.

Blake ran, out of the door. He jumped over some obstacles, and ended up in another room. He locked the door, and crawled into a crawl space. The man chasing him broke down the door and got into the crawl space. He had a flashlight to help him see, while Blake used his night vision. He kept crawling, and then turned right. He crawled out of the crawl space. He was near the well, and he was surrounded by the villagers. There was one open door, which was brightly lit. Blake ran into it, and he turned left. There were broken doors blocking his path, but he managed to squeeze through a crevice. As soon as he got through, the doors almost collapsed on his leg, but it meant that his pursuer could not get through. He looked at Blake.

"Consume the flesh, and spice it well!" he said, pointing at him. "Let the bones be burned! Woe to the bloody city!" Then he walked away.

Blake looked out the windows and saw that people were looking in.

"Okay... Okay..." he said shakily.

He was in a nursery of some sort, with many bunk beds and teddy bears. There was a door at the end of the room. Blake made towards it, but drew back. Someone was banging through the door! Quickly, Blake hid under the bed nearest to the door, just as the man burst through.

"Heretics." he muttered to himself. As soon as he was out of sight, Blake went through the door he busted open, and down some stairs. There was another door, but before entering, he used his microphone to check if anyone was behind it. It sounded like nobody was, so Blake went through, and locked it. There was a bookshelf that looked out of place, so Blake started to push that aside. It was loud, and seemed to attract attention.

"Hey, the outsider!"

The door was busted down, but Blake had already ran through it, not bothering to look back. He made his way around a winding path, and ended up in what looked like a torture room. There was a woman lying on a disgusting bed, breathing. She was chained to the bed. Blake didn't approach her. He couldn't help her, and he needed to focus on getting to the chapel and find Lynn.

He pushed another bookshelf, and he saw a dark pit.

"The fuck is this?"

He saw that the pit was full of impaled bodies, sticks running through their bodies.

"Ah, shit." he said, strafing across a ledge carefully. He got off the ledge, and ended up in a small basement. He climbed up the stairs, and opened the door.

"He's in the house!" shouted a man with a flashlight, from outside.

Blake immediately ran up some stairs into a bedroom. He slid under a hole, and ended up in a balcony. He jumped down, and kept running. He could see lights from flashlights, and people chasing him, but he didn't look back. He vaulted over a fence, turned left, and noticed a hole underneath a house. He crawled into it.

"I got him! Over here!" shouted a man.

Blake kept crawling, when he saw someone jabbing a pitchfork from above, almost hitting him. He kept on crawling, knowing that someone was on his heels. He crawled out from underneath the house, and stood up. He noticed a light coming from a shed. He jumped up, and climbed into it.

"Son of a bitch! Where in hell?" growled someone.

Blake noticed that the floor was broken and cracked. He stamped down on it three times, and it broke. The villagers were jabbing their pitchforks through the shed. Blake crouched down, and started to crawl out of the shed. Miraculously, the villagers thought that he was still in there.

"Fucking deer guts on a doorknob!"

"This fucker's slippery as a greased hog!"

Blake stood up and kept running. He noticed a small window at the bottom of a house. He crawled in, panting. He was so exhausted. There was a clean bed, but he resisted the temptation. He needed to find Lynn. Who knows what they could be doing to her? Blake took a moment to regain his stamina, before heading upstairs.

He was in a classroom, but there was no one except a dead old lady, supposedly the teacher. Above her, there was writing on a chalkboard.

"Don't be afraid, you're going to heaven." it read in cursive writing.

Blake recorded it, a lump in his throat. This must be where they killed the children. As soon as he stopped recording, all the trays on the desks opened by themselves.

"The fuck? Am I losing it?" Blake said.

He continued upstairs, where he jumped from a window into a yard. There was a fence.

"Fucking fence. I could climb that. I just need something to stand on."

He found a letter, written with bad spelling and splattered with blood.

Mommy-

Miss Carson sed I cud not tell you what thar gonna do but she did not sae I cud not rite it so plees do not let them kil me. I love you and I love daddy.

Juliana.

This letter horrified Blake so much. The people here were killing innocent children. Blake took a picture of the letter as proof, just incase he ever got out of this shithole.

Eventually, Blake found a cart (how had he not seen it before?) and started to push it towards the fence. Then he heard a familiar voice.

"Pray with me!" it said, and Blake saw Marta, the crazy pickaxe lady, standing at the other side of the fence. She walked away and dissappeared.

Blake would not have went over, but the only reason he did, was because of Lynn. He kept her image in his brain. When he climbed over, he noticed the same lady who had scared him back at the power generator room. She didn't seem to take notice of him, just standing and singing. Blake walked past her, and kept walking. He then found another cart, and a gate. He could push the cart to climb over the gate. He also noticed a small hole in the fence next to the cart.

He started to push the cart, and got about a third of the way there, when Marta walked out in front of him.

"God? Do you want him?"

Blake instantly turned back an ran anti-clockwise, back to where the lady had been singing (although she was gone). Marta gave him a scream of fury, which made his hair stand on end. He kept running, then he saw a small hole in a fence. Sliding through, he realised that he was back next to the cart. He had ran in a full circle. Blake started to push the cart, when he heard a smash to his right. Marta had broken through the fence! Blake repeated the same process, running anti-clockwise, in a circle. When he got back to the cart, he pushed it as fast as he could. He was right next to the gate, when he heard a scream of rage. It was Marta, no doubt about it. He jumped up and was hanging from the gate. But Marta had grabbed his arms, attempting to pull him down. Blake grabbed her arm, and kicked her hard in the face. She recoiled, giving him time to jump over the fence. He could her her grunts of anger.

"I don't know what the fuck your God wants from me, lady."

Blake ran forward, and turned left, past a hanging lady. He saw it. The chapel. He had been through a lot of shit to get here, and he was finally here.


	9. The Road to the Minew

Blake ran towards the chapel. He saw two dead heretics hanging from a pillar. He opened the main doors and then another door inside that led to the main room. Blake heard a man grunting. He located the noise, and found a pale, bald man tied to a large wooden wheel. He had 'Judas' carved across his chest, and he had no eyes, just two black holes.

"Mary? Knoth? Who's there? Who are you?" he exclaimed, unable to see.

"My name's Blake."

"The outsider. The father."

"I'm not anybody's father, I just..." started Blake.

"Kill me!" the man shouted. "You have to kill me! Knoth is coming back! With Mary! He'll hurt her and I'll talk. If you kill me, he won't have reason to hurt her. Please!"

Blake looked around, and there was nothing to kill him with (thankfully, as Blake was not willing to kill a man). But he had other problems. Knoth was coming back. He could already hear people at the main doors.

Quickly, Blake hid in the confessionals. There was space to see outside. He heard footsteps, and saw a large man with brown hair and a crooked nose walk by. He was extremely fat. Blake also heard a screaming woman, who he supposed was Mary.

"We found her, Josiah." said the fat man, who Blake knew to be Knoth. The voice was instantly recognisable. He was speaking to the man on the wheel. "Trying to flee 'mongst the Scalled. Not the actions of a woman unburdened by an immaculate conscience."

They threw Mary onto a torture device, the one that stretches out your bones. Knoth kept rambling on, then he said something.

"The outsider woman has this world's destruction in her womb! The fiend's father is escaped! She will bear her filthy yeild before dawn! We have only these few hours, to find her, and kill her, and save this paradise from hell everlasting! Where is she? Where did Val take her?"

Blake supposed that Val was the one that licked his face, and was the leader of the Heretics, the creatures that took Lynn.

"I... cant-" said Josiah.

"This is for you, Josiah. Make the woman scream!" said Knoth maliciously, to his cronies.

As the men cranked the small wheel, Mary's arms were being pulled back, stretching to breaking point. It was hard for Blake to watch.

Finally, Josiah gave in.

"Where is the woman?!" shouted Knoth.

"The mines. Up the mountain. Val has her in the mines. You'll never get her back! Not before the birth!" shouted Josiah.

"We are the hands of the Lord! We cannot fail!" said Knoth.

"The world will die screaming!" cried Josiah.

"Thank you, Josiah, that's enough." then a man stabbed Josiah with an axe, killing him, the others stretching Mary's bones apart. Then they left.

"The mines. Where the fuck are the mines?" said Blake.

He recorded Josiah and his wife.

"They always hurt women to punish men. It's sick. It's cowardly." said Blake, feeling disgusted and enraged.

Blake ran back to the main doors. Then he heard a shout.

"Hey! The outsider! He was in the chapel."

Blake ran as fast as he could. Down the stairs, past the hanging lady, and over a bridge. He saw a shed, with a door he could push open. He pushed it, and someone swiped at him with a machete. He went in the shed, and went out another door. He climbed some stairs, a man right at his heels.

"He's climbing the water tower!" someone shouted.

When he was at the top of the stairs, there was a jump. He made the jump with his fingertips, and climbed up. He had lost his pursuers.

"The outsider's over yon, heading into the corn!"

Blake grabbed a battery, and jumped down from his safeplace. He ended up in some tall grass behind a fence. He slid under a hole in the fence, then entered a house. He saw a lady, holding a baby, and singing to it. Then he looked down, and wished he hadn't. There were small coffins, each one with the bones of dead infants. Blake looked away, ran past the crazy lady, and into the next room.

Out of the door, he saw people running.

"He's back there!"

"Hey, he's heading your way!"

Blake opened a window, and jumped out, into a cornfield. He kept to the edge, and used his microphone to track noises.

"And you will know me, God, by my works." muttered a man close by.

Blake went unnoticed, and ran out of the cornfield into a building. He bolted the door shut, foor good measure. There was a large cog wheel spiralling, blocking a potential crawl space.

"I just need to find a way to stop the mill." Blake said to himself.

He went inside a room, and found a crank. This might come in handy. Another door led him outside, where there were stairs. Blake went up the stairs, and found a place where he could install the crank. He installed it, and turned it round three times.

"That should do the trick." said Blake, satisfied.

He went down the stairs, and was pleased to see that the crawl space was now clear. Hastily, Blake made his way through, as he could hear someone banging down the door. As Blake got out of the space, he kept running. He turned left, and slid down a hill. But, to his surprise, nobody followed him. He looked up and saw flashlights pointing down at him.

"That's far enough." said a man. "I wouldn't go down there for all the clean cunny in Zion."

"What?" said another.

"That's Marta's piece. Leave it." said the first man.

"Amen to that." agreed the other.

"Oh, fuck!" thought Blake "I know exactly where I am. That Marta bitch is gonna be here."

Blake calmed himself. He had escaped her three times already. Although she may be quick, so was Blake. But this was not a video game. If he died, there was no restarting. One mistake, one bad decision, one wrong turn, and he was gone.

Blake stepped over a dead cow, and there were two forks. He took the one on the right, and squeezed through a broken door into a barn. There was a latch the looked as if it had to be pulled up. Blake could fit through that.

"I just need a hook." Blake thought.

He looked in the barn, but knew it was not going to be that easy. He had to step back outside. Now Blake went the other way. Then he heard a rasping voice muttering some words.

"Jesus, don't you ever quit?" Blake said.

He hid in the tall grass, and waited for Marta to pass him. This was his chance. He ran, and heard her scream. He kept running, and found a hole in a fence. He slipped through, and was safe.

Blake found a slaughter house, with loads of dead bodies and meat. It was the worst smell he had ever smelled. He pulled a chain, and a hook came towards him. Then he heard a voice.

"Do you hate him, God?" and he spun round. The doors of the slaughter house closed. "Do you hate him?"

Luckily, Blake found another crack that he could squeeze through. He braced himself, ready for Marta, but she had disappeared. As he made his way back to the barn, he heard her to his right. But he was safe, as there was a fence in between them.

"Spreader of lies. Spiller of foul seed." she said, staring at him through the fence.

Blake ignored her, squeezing back through the gap in the fence. He turned left, and ran towards the barn. Then, he heard someone breaking through a locked gate next to the barn. He picked up his pace, and squeezed through into the barn before Marta had even got close to him. He was safe now, he just needed to put on the hook and lift the chain.

He approached the latch and put the hook in.

"God give me voice, God guide my hand!" he heard Marta smashing through the barn door.

Blake quickly pulled the chain ran. He crawled through, and he was almost out, when she grabbed his leg. She was pulling him back out. He don't know how he done it, but, once again, kicked her hard in the nose. She shrieked and let go, running away.

"Okay. Fuck. Keep moving." he said.

He could see a large building in the distance.

"That is the mine. Where the heretics or... that's where they've got Lynn. What are they doing to her? I'm so sorry baby." he said, with gritted teeth.

He saw a house and he tried the door, but it was locked. He saw a gap above, and climbed up. He ended up on some tiles, and they fell underneath him. He dropped down, and realized that he was back in school. He saw a drawn picture of a stick figure, hanging from a rope, on the wall. There was scribbled writing that read 'Jessica' all around the picture.

"Wait. Wait. This is before I found her hanging. Wake up. Wake up. I'm still here."

He turned left and found a classroom with a transparency that had a picture of a hangman. There were some letters missing.

"The hangman game! Like Lynn and Jess used to play. The other half of this must be somewhere. Jessica would leave a hangman for Lynn to find." he said, remembering.

"Thank you, Blake. Very, very generous of you." said a man's voice. Blake ignored it. This was only a dream (although it was a very vivid dream.)

Blake went down another hallway, and some lockers opened and closed automatically.

Blake found another room with a projector that had more hangman letters on it. As he entered the room, he thought that he saw a many-armed shadow, running across the room. He put the transparency on the projector, and moved it to project on to the board.

"'Unforgivable.'" Blake read. "Sounds about right." he agreed.

Blake went back to where the hangman drawing was, but found that it was not there. Instead, there was a door. Blake went through, and found himself in a long, dark corridor, full of lockers. He had to use his night vision to navigate himself. There was an exit sign, so he ran towards it. It was locked, and so was the door that he had came in from. Then he heard a man's voice laughing, and all the lockers started opening and closing of their own accord. Blake started to see black shadows.

The lockers eventually stopped, and Blake just stood there, unsure what to do. Then, something horrible jumped out at him. It had a skinned face, red and pink. It had many arms, and a large tongue.

"AGHHHH!" shouted Blake.

The monster pushed him all the way back to the entrance, and Blake's vision was groggy. He stood up, and realised that another door had appeared. He went in, and shut the door. He climbed up a broken tile, and was in a vent again.

"I'm back here. I was just here. What the fuck?" he said, confused. The last time he had had a dream in the school, he had got sucked down a well into this vent.

Suddenly, something grabbed his leg. He looked back, and saw a tongue, trying to pull him back. Blake wriggled free, and turned round, noticing that he was in a crawl space on the side of a mountain. He was back in reality.

Blake got out of the space, and saw a broken bridge, that led to a large building. It was the mines. He walk towards it, strafing across a ledge. There was a forest underneath, from where he could hear loud moaning noises. He definitely didn't want to fall down there

Blake started to walk across the bridge. He was really high up.

"Oh, Christ. Okay, it's not that far. This isn't so bad." he said, reassuring himself.

He was walking across a narrow beam. He was about halfway there, when he realises that there were insects flying towards him. Hundreds, thousands of them.

"What in...?" he said.

Then more came, trying to lift him up, getting in his mouth. Blake was distracted, and lost his footing.

"SHIT!" he yelled.

Then he fell, plummeting towards the ground. He was surely going to die. But then, his foot caught something, and his mind went blank.

When Blake became conscious, he realised that everything was upside down. This worried him, as he thought that his brain was addled. Then he realised thay he had miraculously caught his foot around a branch, so he was hanging from it. Then he heard voices.

"Were they locusts or were they not?" said a voice.

"Laird- your grace, it was a shadow in the sky. But I ain't rightly sure." said another voice, scared.

"God loves his children, ugh." said the first voice.

Blake then saw a skinny man running away from someone.

"Sorry, your grace- I'm sorry-" but the man was cut off, as a flaming arrow hit his back, killing him.

Then another person walked into the clearing. Or, two people did. It was a tiny man riding on top of a larger man's back.

"Sorry." he said, mocking his victim. "His suffering is done. Knoth's words are true. Momentous times are upon us." then they walked away.

Blake was relieved at how they hadn't seen him or his camera, which was lying on the ground. He waited for a few moments, before dropping from the branch and picking up his camera. Thankfully, it was still intact.

"Guess I'm taking the long way." said a disgruntled Blake.

He walked through the forest, following a stream. He kept hearing moaning noises, but didn't stop to investigate. He crawled underneath some logs, and a creature crawled across the ground rapidly, dissapearing into the grass.

"Oh God..." said Blake.

Blake just kept going and crawled inside a log. Someone was banging on top of the log. He kept crawling, and stood up. There was barbed wire, blocking his path. There were signs that read 'Sickness here' and 'God bless'.

"Fuck! There's gotta be some other way around." he said.

He scaled down a small rocky hill, and found a note about the Scalled. These were the people who had 'sinned' though there were some writings about STDs. The leader of the group was someone called Laird.

Eventually, Blake found his way into a village. It stunk horribly. There were frail people who must have diseases, whatever else they had been forced to believe. They just stared at him, twitching, their bodied covered with spots and wounds, but didn't do a thing. Then, a man suddenly grabbed Blake and vomited all over him.

"Agh! Fuck!" Blake shouted, pushing the man away from him. Eventually, Blake found another blocked gate, and he could see those weird people who shot flaming arrows.

"I see you again today, and I'll pull them eyes from your head and squeeze what they seen out of them!" said the small man, shooting another man. He must be Laird, the leader of this group.

"Love!" shouted the larger man.

Blake climbed up a hill, and was about to climb up the last ledge to the top, when a diseased person punched him with their stump of an arm, sending Blake sliding down the hill. Blake landed hard, his glasses falling off. Then, as he put them back on, he noticed that he had landed exactly where Laird had been just minutes before. There were loads of sick people in blood-splattered tents. Blake ran forward, making his way into the forest, when he saw a bright light, and a tall figure.

"Praise God and his Prophet Knoth!" said Laird, shooting an arrow that narrowly missed Blake.

"OH FUCK ME!!!" Blake shouted.

"We have found the Scalled Christ!"

Blake hid in some tall grass, waiting for them to walk past him. When they had gone, he stood up and ran to the forest entrance, strafing left and right, to avoid the arrows. He was obviously much faster than them, but they had arrows that they could shoot from afar. Quickly, Blake found a gap that led into a house, and he squeezed through it.

When he got out of the gap, he realised that he was in a blue locker. Out of the gaps, he could see a man, but not his whole face. He walked away, and Blake waited for a moment before leaving the locker. He saw a girl running.

"This way, Blake." she said.

"Jess! Come back!" Blake said, his voice shaking slightly, listening to children's laughter, but not seeing them.

He followed Jessica into an office, but she had dissapeared. There was a computer that was on, so Blake approached it. There was an email talking about how Jessica had forged her father's signature to go to a piano factory road trip. She wasn't allowed, and was put on library study. Blake left the computer, and walked down the dark hallway. He found another narrow corridor, and as soon as Blake entered, the floor started pulsing with a weird pink, veiny texture. Then he saw Jessica at the other side of the corridor. He ran towards her, but she ran away.

"Don't go." she said.

Blake could hear Jessica singing, a man's voice also singing with her.

"Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see..."

He followed the voices, and found a broken tile. He climbed up, and heard Jessica once more.

"He's coming."

Then he realised that he was in a log. He kept crawling, then as he got out, two people grabbed him, pulling him out.


	10. The Scalled

"No! No! Let go!" Blake yelled.

The two men holding him were filthy, and stunk, red blotches decorating their bodies.

"Give him to us! Let us have him!" said another voice.

Blake was grabbed by a tall figure. Then he saw who must be Laird, and his companion. Laird was tiny, maybe two feet tall. He had a bald head, and looked like a deformed toddler, although his voice was of a man's. His taller companion, who's back he rode on, covered his face, except for his eyes and mouth. His eyes were bloody, and it looked as if he had no lips or gums. Blake grunted, trying to escape, but the grip on his arms was too strong.

"Oh praise God and his Prophet Knoth. Oh praise God." said Laird. "Forgive me, Lord, but I have to be sure.

Laird took an arrow, and stabbed it into his own hand, revealing a fresh wound.

"Open his mouth, Nick." said Laird, speaking to his companion.

Nick forced Blake's mouth open, and Laird made Blake digest his infected blood, which was probably ridden with syphilis and gonorrhoea.

"UGH!! AGHHH!" grunted Blake.

"He is unmarked. He is pure. He is the Scalled Messiah!" said Laird, in a triumphant voice.

Blake felt a sharp pain in his arm. He realised that one of the Scalled was trying to eat him. Laird slapped him away.

"You halfwit dog's cunt! He ain't been transubstantiated yet! He ain't been... reborn. First we gotta get him on that cross. Get my hammer and nails. Let's get on up that hill." he said. Blake knew what was coming, as Nick punched him in the face.

Nick was dragging Blake by his legs, while Laird was talking to no one in particular.

"He will come born on locusts wings, immaculate as a newborn. He will give us his gospel, the sacred words of his teaching. He will be nailed to a cross and die, and he will be buried. But he will rise again in more perfect flesh. We will eat of that flesh in holy communion and be healed of ur physical signs. And we shall inherit this broken earth."

Blake was trying to grab onto something in desperation, but it was no good. Eventually, they took him to a large cross.

"You see? We prepared everything! It's all ready for you." said Laird, talking as if he was showing Blake a five-star hotel room.

"What? Don't do this... please." said Blake.

"Lord- what I mean is, where is your gospel. You're supposed to have a gospel for us." said Laird. "To guide us in our salvation after the end."

"G- gospel?" Blake stammered.

"The truth. Your guidance. We suffered a long time, waiting on you." said Laird, and two people pinned his hands to the side of the cross.

"Well, old Nick." said Laird, patting Nick's shoulders. "I guess we'd better put those nails in."

"Wait! Wait..." said Blake, but it was no use.

He looked away as Nick got a nail, pressed it to his palm, and hammered it with a large hammer. It was the worst pain that Blake had ever experienced.

"ARRGGGHHH! UGHHHH!" yelled Blake.

"Good, good. That wasn't so bad, was it?" asked Laird. "What is that? Nick, hand me that." Nick picked up Blake's camera. "Is that a camera? A record? Of course, how I could not see it?" he said, examining the camera. "A modern Christ would use a camera, not a book. This is our gospel! How could I not have known?"

"These fuckers are crazy." Blake thought, struggling and writhing in pain.

"Lord, please forgive me for doubting you. There is no suffering I do not deserve! I am a worm. A festering wound. A- a... I must study his lessons. Drive the other nail in, and hang him up!" he said, turning away.

"No! NO!" yelled Blake, but the pain came again. "AGHHH! AGHHHH!!!"

"You are the light of my world, you are my way, you are my strength." muttered Laird, as Blake was getting hung up.

The cross was fully upright, ten feet in the air. Blake was limp, only his hands holding his weight. He started to lose conciousness.

"Is this how I die?" he thought.

Blake only thought of Lynn, as he felt his life slipping away from him.

When Blake woke, his arms were aching. He looked up at his hands, hyperventilating slightly. He knew what had to be done, otherwise he would surely die. Without hesitating, Blake ripped his right hand free from the cross, and then his left.

"AGHHH!" Blake yelled once more.

He dropped down to the floor, landing hard, and panted heavily. There were two large holes in his hands.

"Oh God... Fuck. God. Stop the bleeding... Gotta stop the bleeding... Gotta..."

He found some bandages in a tent, and looked at his stinging hands once more.

"Shit shit shit shit shit. Oh, shit. Oh, fuck me, that hurts.

He bandaged his hands, the blood seeping through already. It wasn't much, but it would at least protect him from infection.

Blake had nothing, no bandages, no batteries, or even his camera. He had to rely on moonlight or fire to guide him. As he got on top of a hill, he could see the cross where he had been hanging from. People were down there. They knew that he gone. Blake made his way through the forest, and nobody really chased him, except for one person, although he was easy to get past.

Eventually, Blake found a small body of water, and jumped down into it. He saw lamplight, and realised that it was Nick, holding a lamp, Laird perched on top of him. Blake quickly ducked under the water, waiting for the threat to pass by. Finally, they were gone, and Blake went into a house. It stunk like death.

"Goddamn vultures. How many corpses did you pick over?" said Blake.

Miraculously, he found his camera. He felt like it was his only friend in this hellhole. He picked it up to examine it, to see if it was still working. As he put it to his face, he turned it on. Blake was in a cafeteria.

This was his school's cafeteria.

"I keep coming back earlier. What the fuck?" said Blake.

There was another hangman page on one of the tables. Blake figured out what it said.

'Don't let me go'

As Blake made his way out of the cafeteria, he saw a many-armed, pink creature run in front of him. The walls and floor were pulsating again, with the weird pink, veiny texture. He ran to where the creature had ran, and heard a phone ringing.

"Is that a... phone?"

As he makes his way down a narrow corridor full of offices, all the doors close, and the creature comes out of a room. It was the most horrifying thing that Blake had ever seen. It was coming towards him. Blake turned back and ran, turning right into a bathroom and locking himself in one of the stalls.

Blake waited a few moments before finding the room that had the ringing phone. He hesitated, then picked it up. There was a man's voice, and it was very familiar.

"Hello? Hello? Oh, thank God you're alive. I need you to stay calm. We'll get you out of there. I want you to find a place to hide. Someplace safe where you can remember the taste of her kiss when you felt her neck break, you diseased cocksucker!" a long, pink tongue came out of the phone, seizing Blake's throat.

Blake spluttered, but managed to wrench the tongue off of his neck, and it disappeared into the phone. Blake immediately dropped the phone, as if it were carrying an infection.

Blake left the room and went into the corridor again. All the doors shut on their own, making Blake jump. He went back the way he came from. Then he noticed that there was someone in the bathroom. It was the monster.

Blake ran, and it started chasing him. It was quite fast. Blake turned left, and saw Jessica disappear into a locker.

"He's coming!" she shrieked.

Blake also got in the locker. Inside, it looked like it was made out of wood, and there were some shabby clothes. He exited, and was somehow inside a wooden house. He was in a bedroom. He opened the door to leave, and a flaming arrow narrowly missed him, hitting the door. Blake didn't go out the front door, put quickly jumped out of a back window.

Barbed wire had been put everywhere to trap Blake, but he was not fooled. He found a ledge that he strafed across, and then saw a large, fallen tree that created a beam for him to walk across. Blake cautiously walked across it, and a fire arrow landed right in front of his feet. Blake quickened his pace, and got onto a cliff face.

He kept running, scaling mountains and rocks, while Laird shot at him. He found a space where he could drop down from a hill, and he did so. There was a man there, and he jumped on Blake, pinning him to the ground. Blake wriggled free, and ran. He slid down some rocks, but got caught in some barbed wire.

It was so sharp, that it was tearing into his skin. Then, he was grabbed by strong arms, and heard a familiar voice.

"We have you,it's OK. Shhhh. We have you." said Laird.

Nick tore Blake free from the wire, which had ripped Blake's skin, and threw him into a coffin.

"Yes. Yes, return him to the Way of Sorrows. His tomb is waiting." said Laird, and Nick dragged his coffin somewhere.

"Take him. And when he rises, we all will have our communion."

Blake didn't know how he was going to get out of this one. They were going to bury him alive, and then eat his flesh.

It sounded like they had put his coffin in a hole. Then, they started pouring rocks on his coffin.

"Don't! Please don't! Please don't! Please!" cried Blake. "Oh, you crazy motherfuckers."

Blake stopped hyperventilating, as it would not help his breathing. The coffin was only made out of wood, so it was worth a try to escape.

Blake hammered his already injured hands against the coffin with all his might. He pushed the lid of the coffin, and miraculously, it started to break free. He kept pushing, and finally got out. He gasped in the fresh air, then collapsed on the ground.

Blake stood up and steadied himself. He wasn't fully safe yet. He made his way through the forest, trying to avoid the crawling people trying to grab him.

He slid under a fence, and found a gate of barbed wire. Behind it was a man who had just been hung, or had hung himself, from a tree. Blake kept climbing rocks, and ended up on the edge of a cliff face. He could see the mine.

"The mine! That's gotta be it."

There was a big drop from where he was standing, where he would surely die from if he were to jump. Instead, he jumped into a building through a window. There was a space to put a rope. Blake had a sudden idea.

Blake left the building, jumping over a gap on top of the locked door. He saw a man, who looked like he was waiting for him. He ran away when Blake saw him.

"Messiah! The miracle! The host is ready!" he said, and starting knocking on doors.

Blake ran through the village, and found the hanged man, and went up to the tree that he was hanging from. He tore of the branch, and the rope went flying to the ground. Blake went down and picked it up off of the dead man's neck.

"Thanks." said Blake.

As soon as he picked it up and proceeded to walk back the way where he had came from, he saw a light, and a flaming arrow hit a tree right next to Blake's head.

Blake ran, as fast as he could, not looking back. He weaved in an out of Laird's arrows, and made his way back to the shed. He jumped over the door, got the rope, and threw it over the slot. He grabbed it and made his way down, his hands burning. Laird had busted through, and was grabbing the rope to pull Blake back up. Blake was only halfway down.

"What? Don't touch me! I said get your hands off me!" shouted Laird.

Blae looked up and realised that Laird's followers had turned against him, and were trying to push him and Nick down.

"Your touch disgusts me! Which side are you...? Hey, hey! No, God damn you!" he said, and one of the men fell. Then, Laird was pushed by another.

"Agh!" screamed Laird, him and Nick both falling on top of Blake.

Blake plummeted down, landing on some wood, and was trapped underneath it, as the weight had broke it. Then, he saw a sight that's lifted his spirits.

Laird and Nick were lying motionless, their eyes glazed. They were clearly dead, killed by one of their own. Blake would have felt sorry for them, but his hands still hurt. He crawled forward, and saw a trapdoor. He opened it, and felt a sudden chill. He climbed up, and saw that he was on a roof ridden with snow. He was on the school roof.

Blake found a door that led him back inside the building, by following strange, bloody footsteps. He walked down the stairwell, and saw something at the bottom. It was the monster.

Blake ran back up, but when he got to the top of the stairs, the monster was there as well. Blake turned back again, running downstairs, until he got to the bottom floor. He smashed open the door, leading him back outside. He was in the courtyard.

Blake found another trapdoor, and went inside. He was in some sort of cellar. Then, he heard a man.

"You were jealous. You were frightened."

The monster was running towards him, so he ran the other way, and climbed up a ladder. He opened the trapdoor, and ended up in the kitchen. Another door led him back into the cafeteria.

There was a letter there, the same one as his last dream. 'Don't let me go' it read. When Blake picked it up, he heard a voice.

"You're not alone here."

The painting that was on the wall, the tree with a cross in the middle, lit up, and branches grew out of it. Then, it all stopped and Blake was standing on rocky ground, Jessica standing in front of him.

"Come here." she said, running away.

"Jessica! Hey, Jess!" called Blake.

"The day is done, O God the Son. Look down upon thy little one. O light of night, keep me this night, and shed round me, thy presence bright. I need not fear, if thou art near. Thou art my saviour kind and dear. Quick!" Jessica kept reciting this, and Blake tried to follow her voice using his microphone. He could hardly see anything, completely relying on sound.

"This way, Blake." Jessica said.

"Jess! Can you hear me?" asked Blake.

Suddenly, he was up close to her face, and she was hanging on a noose, screaming as if she were on fire. Then, it all went dark.


	11. The Heretics

Blake turned on his night vision. He was in a cave. As he left it, he looked out into the distance. There was a lake, and the mine was on the other side of it.

"A lake. Get to the other side of the lake." Blake told himself.

As Blake walked down some stairs and approached the lake, he saw a man walk calmly into it.

"OK, I'm not putting a fucking toe in that water. There's something wrong. That lake is wrong."

Blake looked for a boat, but the ones that he found were broken and had holes in them. Eventually, he found a set of stairs behind a house. He climbed up them, and saw something else in the distance. It was a large building, emmiting a bright white light. Blake filmed it.

"A tower. A radio tower, or a microwave relay. Civilisation, maybe. For a second I was dumb enough to think I might not die.

Blake ran down the hill he was on, and found another lakeside village. There was a raft on the shore. It wasn't amazing, but it wasn't broken, and had an oar aswell.

Blake dragged it into the water, and settled onto it. It was not comfy, but what else could he expect? He sailed in the direction of the mines, and suddenly, everything went foggy.

A giant tongue had shot up out of the water, right in front of Blake's raft. As soon as that happened, a bright white light flashed out from the fog.

The fog settled down, and Blake was wondering what was going on. Then, dead fish floated up to the surface.

"These are signs." said Blake, horrified. "The apocalypse! I hope to God I'm just losing my shit."

As soon as he said this, a large wave of water came crashing down on him, followed by the white light. Blake had fallen into the water. Dead bodies floated past him. Blake managed to resurface, and swam back to the raft.

"Let me help you." said a man's voice, and Blake's feet were being grabbed by a many-armed creature under the water.

Blake fought free and got back on to the raft. He was freezing, drenched in water, but that was the least of his many problems.

Blake made his way into a river rapids, his raft starting to lose control. He crashed into the shore, and was struggling to break free.

"Miserable excuse for a boat!" said Blake angrily.

Then, a heretic came out of in front of him, running towards him.

"Shit! Come on!" said Blake, trying to wedge out the boat with the oar. Eventually, he got out, just in time, as the heretic had almost reached him. He continued sailing, growing wary of crashing.

"The cult wants her dead. Those good Christians. But the others, the... heretics. They want her to have the baby! To spite God. What'll they do when there's no baby? I have to... Jesus. Lynn. I'm coming."

Blake kept on sailing, and then he saw something horrifying. On the top of a hill, some heretics had grabbed another person, set them on fire, and threw him into the water. The water itself was ridden with bodies. Blake recorded this.

"Bodies so thick, I could have walked across the water on their backs. It's almost funny." said Blake, though there was nothing funny about his situation. "That's how you walk on water."

Blake's raft was going too fast, that it hit a log in the water, and Blake toppled out. Luckily, he was next to the shore, so he got out of the water quickly. Unluckily, the raft had dissapeared.

"Shit! Shit, the raft! Please still be there..."

Blake went to the top of the hill to get a better view of where the raft could be. He saw it, wedged into another shore, on the other side of where he was right now. A heretic was next to the raft, but ran away.

"There! The raft! If I can just get across."

He strafed a ledge, and then saw a disgusting sight. It was a body, though only the legs. The rest was gone, only maggot-infested guts in the place of the upper body. There were many bodies and dead fish.

"Motherfucking no." said Blake in exasperation, almost crying at all the things that he had seen tonight.

Blake found a frail tree that he pushed with his heavily-bandaged hands. The log fell all the way to the other side of the lake, and Blaks cautiously walked across it, keeping his balance.

When he got to the other side, there was writing on the wall (which looked like it was written with blood) that said 'LOVE SET US FREE', accompanied by a hanging person on a tree.

Blake made his way down the hill, and found the raft. He dragged it into the water, and sat on it again.

Blake's raft was going very fast in the narrow rapids, and rocks were falling down on him, breaking half of his raft. Blake was near the mine now.

"Lynn... what are they doing to her?" said Blake nervously. "They think she's somebody's mother. Called me the father. But I'm not... we haven't in months. I can't be."

Blake suddenly got knocked out of his raft, and when he resurfaced, he realised that there were heretics all around in the water, surrounding him.

Blake ran past them, waist-high in the water, towards the mine. Then, suddenly, a tongue grabbed him and pulled him back under the water. Blake stood up, and noticed that the monster from his dreams was right in front of him.

Blake didn't know where he was, but turned round and ran. He was still in waist-high water. Blake climbed out of the water, and looked around. He was in his school's swimming pool.

The exit door was locked, so Blake went to find a way out through the locker rooms. The boy's locker room had nothing but a locked door, but the girl's had something more.

There was a shower on, but it wasn't water that came out of it. It was blood. It spattered the walls and floor. What was more, when Blake opened a bathroom stall, blood came rising out of the toilet, and poured everywhere.

Blake made to leave the bathroom, and when he got to the exit, a girl ran in front of him, screaming.

"HE'S COMING!" she shrieked.

Blake followed her into the boy's locker room, and found that the door was now unlocked. He went through it and up some stairs. There was a door that he opened, and ended up in a long hallway.

Blake saw that the walls were pulsating with pink veins. To his left, he saw the monster, running towards him. Quickly, Blake ran the other direction, and went to open a door. Then, the monster transported to the other side of the door, making his way towards Blake.

"AGH! What the fuck?!" Blake yelled, but the door closed in time, and the monster dissapeared.

"Motherfucker." said Blake.

Blake went into another hallway, which was lit brightly. Then, he could feel the earth rumbling, and heard a school bell. From above, he saw that there was blood raining down on him, from the bells.

"HELP ME! BLAKE! BLAKE!" screamed a voice. It was undoubtedly Jessica's.

Blake went into the only open door, as the rest of the doors were covered with pink veins, and found a ladder.

"Just leave me alone. Leave me alone... please." he heard Jessica saying.

The ladder slowly turned from steel to wood as he climbed. Then, Blake opened a hatch, and ended up in a wooden shed. It was strangely red outside, and Blake went out to investigate.

It was raining, but it was not raining water It was raining blood. The sky was red, and so was the lake. Blake filmed this.

"Raining blood. Dripping off her shoes... I think?" Blake said vaguely. "No... just... I tried not to step in the blood because I didn't wanna leave tracks."

Blake made his way to the mine, hearing a strange whisper. He found a building, some mutilated bodies hanging outside of it. As soon as he walked in, there was a strange noise, and the door closed. Blake could have sworn that he saw someone walk past the door, but they didn't get in.

Blake went through the first door, and in here were chutes that came from above. A head came rolling down one of the chutes, making Blake jump.

There was definitely movement in here. He was not alone. Blake went upstairs and through another door. Suddenly, someone jumped on him and pinned him to the floor, his face drenched with blood.

"Fuck!" Blake shouted.

"We tried to get her back!" he said. "Before the enemy... cracks her womb. But they..."

"Wait, Lynn?" Blake said, putting his hand on the other man's mouth, to silence him.

"They killed us. The lucky ones they killed." said the man, standing up. "Get out! We have to leave... we... have to go!" he said, running away.

Blake got up, and tried to find him, but to no avail. He then found a crack and squeezed through it. When he got out, he looked around. He was in a library.

He went through a door, and it locked behind him. Through another door, he found himself in a computer room. A chair went flying at him of it's own accord, and Blake located where it had come from. A computer was on, and Blake investigated it.

BlakeAgainstTheMachine - Hey, Jessica?

BlakeAgainstTheMachine - You there?

JESSICA82 - Hi.

BlakeAgainstTheMachine - This works!

JESSICA82 - This is weird.

JESSICA82 -I can see you over there typing.

JESSICA82 - Turn around!

Blake left the computer and looked behind him, glimpsing a hanging figure that dissapeared. He went over and saw another computer that was turned on. He took a closer look.

BlakeAgainstTheMachine - I can see you.

BlakeAgainstTheMachine - What was the other thing in your screen?

BlakeAgainstTheMachine - The window you closed when I came over?

JESSICA82 -Nothing. Just messing around.

JESSICA82 - Still haven't figured this computer thing out.

BlakeAgainstTheMachine - I can help you anytime.

JESSICA82 - Lynn's waving at you.

BlakeAgainstTheMachine - Hold on.

The screen suddenly switched to something else, a blog for depressed and anxious Catholics. Jessica was chatting to a middle-aged woman about being abused by family and wether it was alright to tell the police. Now, Blake finally understood why she had abruptly changed the window when he had went over to her, all those years before.

Blake left the computer, and all of the other computers started glitching, turning on and off. Blake left the room into a hallway. The hallway had a large window where you could see into the swimming pool below, and Blake saw some movement. Jessica was there, walking along the swimming pool, muttering something that Blake couldn't here. Behind her, pink veins were following her across the ground, into the girl's bathroom.

Blake went clockwise, aand found a door being held open by a bin. He went in and saw another door at the end of the corridor. Jessica was behind that door. She was just standing there, staring. Blake ean towards her, eager to talk. But she ran down some stairs to her left, much to Blake's frustration.

"We're not alone here." she said.

Blake followed her through the door and down some stairs. He was in a dark corridor that were next to the locker rooms. Blake ran towards the exit, but then a figure walked out of a door. It was the monster, and it started running towards Blake.

Blake heard high pitched screams, but ran back the way he came. He ran around the large hallway in a clockwise direction. Then something strange happened.

The glass next to him was cracking open by it's own accord. Then, a tongue wrapped itself around Blake's waist, pulling him up in midair, then plunging him into the swimming pool below. Everything was dark, but suddenly everything turned red.

Blake resurfaced, to realise that he was in a box of blood, the blood still raining from the sky above. He found an opening into a building, decorated with heads, and squeezed through.

There was a crawl space, and Blake crawled through. Then, a heretic jumped into sight. Blake backed up, hoping it hadn't seen him. He climbed into a barrel next to a locked door. Another heretic started banging on that door, trying to open. Blake waited until it was through, and had walked away.

Quickly, Blake jumped out of the barrel, and ran the way that the heretics had emerged from. He ran up some stairs, and could feel the heretics chasing him. He had to jump over a series of obstacles, such as a wall made of dead bodies. Eventually, Blake squeezed through a crack, and pushed a crate blocking his way. He jumped out of a window, being greeted by a blinding white light, and hung on to the ledge.

The walls had changed drastically, as if Blake was in a new building. The wallse were made out of bricks. He peeked back through the window and saw a classroom. He was back in school.

He peeked over the next set of windows, and the walls started throbbing with pink veins, and there was also a black mist floating through the air.

Blake found an open window and climbed through it into a classroom. He left the classroom, walking through corridors. There was a statue of Jesus on a cross, which fell and started oozing blood,and there were also bloody handprints on the wall above.

Blake kept going, and saw a figure behind a locked door, but went into a classroom instead. Here, he saw a hangman puzzle with missing letters. He deciphered it, and it read: JESSICA LOVES BLAKE. This made Blake feel guilty for some reason.

"It wasn't my fault that I hadn't loved her in that way." Blake told himself.

Blake left the room and went to open a door that was slightly ajar. As soon as he approached it, however, it locked, and Blake saw another shadow next to his own.

It was vaguely familiar, except for the fact that it had more than the normal amount of arms. Blake reluctantly looked behind him, ready to be attacked, but there was nothing there. What was more, the door that had shut was now unlocked and open.

Blake went through, and found doors that led into the library. Blake went through and followed the light. He made for a door, but then the monster appeared in front of him. Blake turned back and ran through the maze of bookshelves, but when he got to an opening, the monster greeted him once more.

After more running around, Blake managed to get rid of the monster and climb over a large pile of fallen books. Blake slid down into a new area of the library, and saw another room. Through the glass in the door, it looked as if someone was in there.

Blake opened the door, but nobody was there. He grabbed a bandage on a desk, and heard a loud scream from outside the room.

"HE'S COMING!"

Blake left the room and followed a light into a corridor. There were many statues of Jesus on the wall, along with many scribbled writings that said 'Jessica' over and over again. Blake kept walking forward, but his path was blocked by the monster that had appeared.

"SHIT!" Blake shouted.

He turned back and saw Jessica standing looking at him. Blake ran towards her,and she ran away. Blake followed her.

"PLEASE BLAKE!" she screamed.

Blake squeezed behind a bookshelf, and then something grabbed him. It had branches sticking out of it's head, and it's face was obscured by something. Blake realised that it was a heretic. He fought it off and fell to the ground, which was now wooden.

He stood up, and tried a door, but it was blocked by something. Instead, he pushed a trolley to help him climb over a gap on top of the door. He went over, and down some stairs. Over here, he heard growling and grunting noises from above. He looked up, and saw heretics running overhead.

Blake found a door that he could push open, and another gap above a wall. He pushed a trolley and then climbed over. The first thing that he saw was a heretic.

Instinctively, Blake turned left and started running. He climbed up some stairs, and jumped down onto a platform, where he slid under a gap. He climbed up more stairs and then had to walk across narrow beams. If he messed up his footing, he would fall to the ground below. He quickly, but steadily, walked across and up more stairs. He turned right, and slid down a roof.

"AGH!"

Blake fell hard, on top of a girl, his face lamding on her chest, which had a crucifix on it. He lifted his head, and noticed that it was Jessica, her face all bloody. He looked up, and saw that he was on the bottom of a stairwell. The monster that was stalking him was a few stairs ahead of him.

"Fuck." said Blake, and he let go of Jessica's head and started to back out of the room.

He turned left into a long corridor, the monster following him. Blake kept running, and went into a bathroom. Quickly, he got in a stall and shut the door. Then he heard a man singing.

"Oh, be careful little eyes what you see..." he sang.

Then, someone started banging on the stall door. Blake quickly crawled into the next door. He could see veins all across the floor and the room was pulsating.

"Oh, be careful little hands what you do..."

Blake waited until he finally finished his song.

"There's a Father up above, and he's looking down in love, so be careful little mouth what you say."

The movement stopped. Blake opened the door, and ran without hesitation. He knew that the monster was still following him. He went back up the stairway, where Jessica was now hanging.

Blake heard a familiar voice.

"You're not evil, Blake. Just confused. You don't have to hide."

Blake kept running down dark hallways.

"I remember being a young man." said the voice.

Blake tried to open a door, but it was locked. Also, there was a man in the room He looked extremely familiar. He was wearing priest's clothes. He was partially bald, and looked menacing.

"You've always been so nervous. You don't have to be." said the man.

Blake found another door, which was miraculously open. He went in, the door closing and locking behind him. He saw another hangman paper. He made it out to say: I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO.

Blake saw an open window. There was a slight red tinge outside. He jumped out, and hung onto the ledge, which was now wooden. He looked around. It was still raining blood, and it looked like he was on the top floor of the mines.

He strafed across the window and dropped down. After some jumping and climbing, he got into a building. He pushed a minecart aside that was blocking his way. Over here, there was a large chute for him to slide down. Blake looked around before going down, grabbing a battery. There was nowhere else to go, so Blake slid down the chute.

The chute only went down halfway, so he was released into the air.

"AGH!" he yelled, hitting the ground hard once more.

He got up, and noticed that there were a few heretics standing right in front of him.

Blake turned back and started to run. He had to do a lot of crawling. He crawled up, grabbing the rocks with his hands. Eventually, he got up to another floor through a large trapdoor. Quickly, he shut it and locked it.

He looked around, and saw the mine elevator. He went towards it, and yanked the lever.

"It's coming." Blake said.

But when it did come, it was inhabited by a crowd of heretics.

Blake turned back and ran through another opening. The floor was slippery with blood. He had to jump over and slide under many obstacles. He went up some stairs, and jumped back down to make his way back to the elevator. He was running out of breath. Quickly, he got into the elevator, pulling the door shut and smashing the button to go down.

He was finally here.


	12. The Mine

Blake had started his descent down into the mine. He didn't know what would be down there, or even how far down the elevator went. He was only focused on finding Lynn.

"I can still save her. Jess... I just." he said. "Lynn. Her name is Lynn." Blake reminded himself.

He had just passed the eighty foot sign, when the elevator stopped. Blake stood still, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, the elevator dropped down, going at an alarming speed.

"AGH!" Blake yelled, swaying while trying to keep his balance.

The elevator stopped, and Blake fell to the floor. He stood up and saw that there was a sign that told Blake that he was four hundred and fourty feet deep. Then the elevator dropped again. Blake's head was spinning.

When it stopped, Blake fell hard on the floor again, and looked up at a sign. He was eight hundred feet deep. He jumped down from the elevator and found a gap underneath it. He dropped down into it, and ran forwards.

As soon as he got out of the elevator's reach, he heard a crashing sound behind him. He fell again, and straightened up. The elevator was broken. Blake recorded this.

"Trapped. I was never going to get out. But now I knew it. At least I'd be there with her."

He kept walking on, following the twisting railway. At one point, he saw the shadow of a heretic, which startled him. He could hear screaming through the walls, and he used his microphone to hear bettter.

"BLAKE! BLAKE!" screamed a woman.

"Oh shit! Lynn!" Blake yelled. He was close to her now. He crouched underneath some water to get under a gap. He then saw some ladders in a room and went down. As he climbed down, he heard a man's voice.

"You're not evil, Blake. Just confused."

When Blake got to the bottom of the ladder, he saw a figure at the end of the railway. It was the monster, and it started runninh towards him. But it was as if it was glitching, dissapearing and appearing randomly. It got close to Blake, but dissapeared.

As Blake walked forwards towards an opening, it was covered with large rocks and boulders. He turned right instead, and saw dead bodies and a skinned person.

"Fuck. Okay..."

Blake kept walking and saw a crawl space that was indicated by bloody handprints. He crawled through, and stood up, spotting a place where he could jump up. It was also marked with blood. He jumped up, and crawled on top of it, until he found a hole that he jumped down.

Down here were some lockers which would be useful for hiding places. There was a locked door that Blake unlocked, and went outside. To his left, there was a crack in a wall that he could squeeze through if necessary. To his right, was a passageway. He went towards it, and suddenly, a heretic dropped from somewhere above. Thankfully, it hadn't noticed him and proceeded to go inside a room.

Blake choose to go down the passageway, which was very twisty. Near the end of it, he saw a wall that was literally made out of dead bodies. He was about to keep going forwards, when two heretics jumped down from the wall.

"Oh, fuck me." said Blake, turning and running back the way that he had come from. He slipped through the crack in the wall, but it was not long before the heretic pulled him back out.

"Agh!"

Blake went around the heretic and back down the passageway. Miraculously, it had stopped chasing him.

There was a minecart blocking his way to the l, so he went down to the right direction. Down some stairs was a room where there were some batteries and bandages that Blake took. He went back upstairs and saw a lever. He had an idea.

First, he pulled back the minecart to where the drack divided. Then, he pulled the lever. Finally, he sent the minecart down the other direction, and his path was clear. He crouched down and crawled through a gap.

He stood up, and saw the monster standing at the other side of the room.

"What did you do to her?" said a man's voice, and the monster shut a door.

There was no way out, so Blake crawled through a gap instead. There were many human skeletons here, and Blake was feeling claustrophobic in the tight squeeze. Above him were boulders, which moved downwards with a loud rumble.

Finally, Blake got out of the crawl space, and went down some stairs. He then heard a man singing.

"Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see..."

Blake kept walking down the stairs. He needed to focus on finding Lynn, and not getting distracted.

"Oh, be careful little hands, what you do..." the man kept on singing.

Blake had heard this song before in one of his dreams, while he was hiding from the monster in the school toilets.

"There's a Father up above, and he's looking down in love, so be careful, little mouth, what you say..." the man ended his song.

There was a door in front of him, and this seemed like where the singing was coming from. Blake braced himself, and reluctantly opened it. There was nobody there.

The only thing there were two skeletons in a position which looked as if they were having sex.

Blake left the room, and proceeded to duck and weave in and out of stalagmites and stalactites. Then, there was a drop that led into a small body of water. Blake jumped down, and was instantly grabbed by something.

"Agh! No! No!" grunted Blake.

He realised that they were heretics. And he also saw that person, man or woman, who had licked him all those hours before, and had took Lynn. Their name was Val. They walked towards him, completely nude, and covered in mud.

"What have you done to Lynn?!" yelled Blake. "Where is she?"

"We are creatures of appetite." said Val, in a seducing tone. "I want to feel your hunger. I want to see your true face."

They were getting uncomfortably close to him now.

"Your seed will burn this world." they said, stroking his face.

"Mother. Burn!" repeated the heretics.

"I welcome our infant Lord. Naked, hiding nothing."

"You crazy motherfuckers!" shouted Blake.

"I want to see your true face." said Val, picking up some sort of mask and putting it on their face to make them look even uglier. "Show me... your true face!" she said angrily, walking towards him.

Suddenly, the Earth started rumbling. Rocks fell from above, and the two heretics holding him got squashed by them. One fell in between him and Val, and they were seperated. Blake took this opportunity.

He turned back and ran.

"Help me make this right." said Val, and Blake knew that she was chasing him.

He ran straight, and then turned right. He had to use his night vision. Then, he turned left and saw a light. From there, he turned right again and went through an opening. But rocks fell from above, blocking his path. He looked behind him, expecting Val to be there, but thankfully, the rocks had also fallen behind him, seperating him and Val.

Blake managed to squeeze behind the rocks and found a room. There was nothing in here. He went another way, and found a path, that was up to his waist in water.

"He has come. The fruit of your lust. Your child. Your father. The Christ we deserve. Watch." said a voice, probably Val.

He walked through, and saw some sparks of electricity. He went towards it, and saw a path behind it. He would need to shut the power off to go through.

Blake found a switch, and pulled it back. He made to go back, but he saw an orange torchlight. Quickly, he ducked underneath the water, as someone walked past him, most likely being Val. He went back to the blocked path, but it was still sparking electricity.

"Fuck! There's more than one?"

Blake found another one, and made his way back, praying that there were no more. Thankfully, the sparking had stopped. He walked through, and saw a ledge that he had jump up onto. He jumped over the hole, hanging on to the ledge, and pulled himself up.

Up here, Blake saw a minecart that was blocking his way. He pushed it, and it went down the track, taking the right track.

"What did you do to her?" said a sharp, man's voice. "You can't keep a secret from yourself."

Blake realisd that the wall on the left fork had to be smashed down by the minecart. So, he pulled the cart back and yanked a lever. Then, he kept pulling the cart back further to get a good momentum. He let go, and it smashed the wall a bit, revealing a crawl space.

But then something strange happened. In front of the crawl space, there was a black mist and a figure standing there. It was the monster. Although, it was not completely there, as it kept dissapearing and appearing again, as if it was glitching.

Blake crawled through the crawl space, and it dissappeared. He got out of the crawl space and saw the minecart smashed into a rock. He turned left and saw bloody handrints. He followed to where they ended, and it was a ladder.

Blake started to climb down the ladder, but halfway done, his legs felt nothing, and he fell down into the water below. It was only up to his ankles, thankfully. He saw a few skeletons lying here and there.

Blake walked along a path, then heard a voice.

"God doesn't love you. Not like I do."

Blake knew that this was Val, he could tell by their voice. He kept walking, and heard someone drop down from above, on his left side. He looked, and saw Val.

Blake started running, and went intona crawl space. Ot was extremely narrow, but both Blake and Val had managed to fit into it.

Blake kept crawlimg through, Val hot on his heels. Eventually, he got out, but kept running, as he knew that Val was still after him. He found a large gap, but there were narrow, wooden beams that he could walk across to get to the other side. The last beam split in half when he stepped on it, and he went plummeting down into a dark cave filled with waist-high water.

"AGH!"

There was a big splash as he hit the bottom, but there were two more splashes afterwards. That meant that he was not alone.

He walked to a light in the distance, and saw a heretic. He hid underneath the water, waiting for the danger to pass by. After a while, he resurfaced and saw that it was safe. He kept walking towards the light, and climbed some rocks out of the water.

He slid down back into another cabe similar to the last one, although there were no heretics. He saw a ladder and climbed up it. Over here, there were more ladders that he had to climb up. At the top, there was another wooden beam that he walked across. Thankfully, it didn't break. He found a room with a few skeletons.

He climbed up some more rocks, and found some rocks that he could slide down. He slid down them, and someone came in front of him, blowing some powder on his face and taking his camera. It was Val.

Blake was dizzy, and walked forwards. He saw a lot of heretics, having some sort of satanic, sexual orgy.

"Generous of you, Blake." said Val. "He has come. The fruit of your lust. Your child. Your father. The Christ we deserve. Watch."

Then he saw a figure hanging over a well, by two arms.

"Oh God... Lynn!" yelled Blake.

"Blake! It hurts!" Lynn screamed back.

"Lynn, I'm here!" he shouted.

Blake walked towards her, but was grabbed. He looked round, and saw Val. She pushed him to the ground, sitting on top of him.

"AGH! LYNN!" Blake cried.

"I have... so much pleasure to share with you!" said Val.

Then everything went black...

Jessica was sitting on top of him, tickling him. Blake was a child, wearing his school uniform.

Blake giggled for a few moments, but it eventually became too much.

"Oka- get off. Get off me!"

"Not unless you answer!" said Jessica

"No!"

"Fine. Then you have to give up. If you say I win, I'll let you up."

"Okay..."

"You have to say it!"

"You win! Okay?" said Blake grudgingly.

She looked him over for a few seconds before saying, "You're such a pushover Blake." and letting him up.

Blake stood up and did not answer. She held his hand, and he did not take it away. They walked out of the store room and through the kitchen into the dining area. Blake noticed how creepy the dark school looked at night and the snow outside was eerie. But he did not mention this.

"I don't know why you have to be so precious about it." said Jessica.

"Did Lynn ask you to ask me?"

"I asked first!"

"Hmm." Blake said shortly.

"So?" she pressed on.

"I don't know." he said truthfully

"Nerd."

"Shut up."

"You are."

They walked along the long corridors of St. Sybil. Some lights were on and some were off. Blake felt like someone was watching them, like they were not alone. He had a suspicion that Lynn had probably told Jessica to ask him if Lynn was his girlfriend.

"She said to ask, didn't she?" questioned Blake.

"I don't know. I just wanted to know."

It was a quarter to 9. They had entered a dark corridor. Why did Blake have a feeling that something was going to go wrong?

"You think your parents are home yet?" asked Jessica."

"No. Usually not until after dinner." he told her.

"You think I could... come over?"

"Sure." said Blake, without thinking about it. But then he asked "Um, why?"

"Why what?" asked Jessica, although Blake knew that she knew what he was talking about.

"Like, why do you want to come over?"

"I don't know." she said, sounding a bit embarassed.

They continued walking on and were near their music class, when someone came out of the door, making both of them jump.

"What don't you know, Jessica?" It was Father Loutermilch. He looked at both of them, waiting for an answer.

"Oh no." thought Blake. We are gonna get in big trouble."

"Oh! I'm sorry, Father Loutermilch." said Jessica, looking scared.

"What are the two of you doing in here?" said Loutermilch, looking menacing.

"We stayed after school for... journal." said Blake, but his hesitation made it obvious that he was lying. "We were just leaving."

"Let's step back into class, please." said Loutermilch, obviously not believing the lie.

"Blake?" said Jessica, looking frightened, motioning for him to follow her into the Music Room. He made to follow.

"You're not in trouble yet, Blake." Loutermilch said to Blake, walking over to Blake, looking down at him with his large brown eyes."You don't wanna get in trouble, do you?"

"Just stay with me." said Jessica, grabbing his hand. They both walked into the Music Room, Loutermilch following.

"I want the two of you to tell me what you were doing in here." said Loutermilch sharply. "Were you misbehaving? Do I need to call your parents? Jessica, do I need to call your father again?"

"No! Please!" she said, and Loutermilch gave her a satisfied smile. Blake was extremely confused. What on Earth was going on?

"I only want us to be friends." said Loutermilch. "Does one of you think you can make this right? Jessica? Jessica, look at me. Will you pray with me? Will you help me make this right?" he said, stroking her face softly.

"OK, this is messed up." thought Blake. He may only be nine, but he knew that Loutermilch could not touch a pupil like that!

"Why don't you go along home, Blake?" said Loutermilch.

"Don't go." pleaded Jessica.

"Did I interrupt something between you two?" asked Loutermilch, threateningly.

"It wasn't like that." said Blake, in a very small voice.

"Then what was it that you want?" questioned Loutermilch.

Blake was speechless. He had no clue what Father Loutermilch was saying.

"You won't say?" said Loutermilch. "You know, shame is a gift from God. To let you know right from wrong." Loutermilch was now towering right over Blake and he was petrified. Blake tried not to look at the red mark on his forehead, as it made Loutermilch even scarier. "And what you want is very wrong. Go home and pray."

"Stay! I want you to stay!" implored Jessica.

"Blake, please, this is awkward enough. Nothings the matter but I need you to leave us." said Loutermilch.

"Don't! Don't!" begged Jessica.

Blake wanted to stay. He did not want to leave Jessica. But Loutermilch was pushing him out of the door.

"Walk away, young man. Walk away."

Jessica briefly held Blake's hand but they were forced apart. Blake was so confused as to what was going on, although, judging by Jessica pleading for Blake to stay, and Loutermilch's creepy behaviour, he knew something was wrong. So, Blake would exit and call somebody to help. He ran to the exit and was almost out before he heard a high pitched scream. It was Jessica's! The noise went through him like ice running through his veins. Immediately, he turned back and ran, and saw Jessica running away, screaming "Blake! Blake!" and Father Loutermilch was following her.

There was no time to get help. By then Jessica could possibly be... no, he could not think about it. He sprinted as fast as his little legs could carry him, back through the music class and through the corridor. He heard Jessica shouting. "Just leave me alone!" He was close to Loutermilch now, he could hold him off. He saw him go through a door leading to the stairwell. "Stop!" he yelled. And there was a thud, a scream from Jessica, and silence. Blake stood outside the door, dreading what he would see behind it. He slowly creaked it open. Blake gasped. It was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen...

Jessica was lying on the bottom of the stairs, her face bloody. Her neck was to one side and there was a bruise on it. It looked broken.

"No! NO!" cried Blake. He held Jessica close to him for a few seconds.

"I don't know what you think you saw." said Loutermilch.

Blake looked up. He held Jessica's bloody face and looked around. There were heretics getting beaten by villagers. He was still in the mines. Then he looked down, and Jessica was suddenly not there. He stood up.

Someone with a flashlight pointed it at Blake, and shouted.

"I see him!"

Blake turned back and ran. Somehow, he had his camera back. He didn't even know where he was going. He tan through the twisting mine tracks, and found a hole ti drop down. He dropped down, and realised that he had lost his persuers.

Blake kept on running, eager to get out of the mine, as the whole place was falling apart. The rocks were crumbling and falling down. He climbed up some stairs and saw a door. He could hear a woman screaming.

"Lynn!" said Blake, and opened the door. He was outside, and he could see Lynn sitting on the ground. "Lynn!" he said, approaching her.


	13. The Apocalypse

Blake went over to Lynn, and saw her appearance. She was wearing shabby green clothes. She was extremely pale, and had a strange grey crust all over her. And she also had a large bump in her stomach.

"You're pregnant." said Blake, astonished. "How are you pregnant?!"

"Please, Blake, I don't want to die here." pleaded Lynn. "I don't want our baby to die here."

Blake could not see how it was their baby, put didn't mention this.

"I won't. I won't let them kill you." he reassured her.

Blake didn't know how he had managed to get out of the mine, as he was eight hundred feet deep when Val attacked him. But he didn't think too much on this. He waa focused on getting to safety. Blake recorded his surroundings, and it seemed as if there was a storm.

"We're out. I got Jessica out." Blake said, recording the woods. "We'll find a grown up, and tell them what happened. We'll be OK. It's not my fault."

They walked across a small bridge, leading out of the woods.

"We have to find shelter." said Blake.

"As far from this place as we can get." said Lynn.

"Yeah."

They found a wrecked building, but there was a basement.

"Here." said Lynn.

There was a drop to the bottom, and Blake was hesitant on Lynn jumping down in her current state.

"We can't stay out here." said Lynn. "Please Blake, help me down."

"OK." Blake agreed. "Be careful."

She lowered down, Blake still holding her hand. But then, lightning struck nearby, and Lynn fell, falling hard to the ground.

"Fuck! I'm coming down!" he shouted, dropping down. "I'm sorry."

He led her to a small bed.

"Back here!"

He lay her down, holding her down.

"OK... I just..." Lynn panted.

"It's OK, baby."

"Ufff... ufff..." she panted, and he squeezed her hand.

Suddenly, there was a scream from ahead, and he saw Marta standing there.

"Fuck! Fuck! Come on!" yelled Blake.

He led Lynn through a room, but as he made to go in another room, it was barricaded by wood. He turned left instead, and up some stairs.

"It hurts! What the fuck... I think something's wrong!" screamed Lynn.

There was a bed, but they could not stop.

He walked out of the building, but Marta smashed through the wood from the right, blocking their way.

"Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit!" cried Lynn, huddling into a corner as Marta approached.

Blake fell to the floor as Marta approached. He knew he was going to die. At least he would be with Lynn.

"God give me voice, God guide my hand!" Marta kept repeating, as she slowly walked towards him, her pickaxe raised.

"God loves you." she said, and she made to strike down on Blake.

Suddenly, a large cross came plummeting from the roof of the building, going right through Marta's body. She went limp, and blood drenched her body.

Lynn held him, and put her head in his arms.

"FUCK YOU!" she screamed at Marta's dead body. "AND FUCK YOUR GOD!"

They kept walking along a path, and the lightning was getting worse.

"It's like the whole world burnt!" exclaimed Lynn.

Lynn was also in pain.

"Is it the baby?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, she's coming soon!" responded Lynn.

Then Blake saw the chapel in the distance.

"There! The chapel!" he had to shout to make his voice heard over the storm. "We can take shelter!"

Blake filmed the storm. Crosses from the ground were flying up to the sky, and he couldn't tell if the red fireball in the sky was the sun or the moon.

"The world was on fire, the baby was coming." said Blake. "The impossible child. Lynn said Jess was like her little sister, I don't know what I'm suposed to do. None of this is my fault."

They kept moving, and they were almost in the chapel.

"It's cold." said Lynn.

"Keep moving."

They walked into the chapel, the dreadfully familiar place where Josiah and his wife, Mary, had been tortured.

Mary's body had been moved from the torture device, so Blake had to lie Lynn down on it.

"You have to lie down." Blake said.

"Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit!" groaned Lynn. "I can't do this."

"You can! You can do this!" Blake said, reassuring her and holding her hand.

"I think... something's wrong." said Lynn, looking dazed. "It hurts too much!" she screamed.

"I know, baby, I know!" said Blake, almost sobbing. "But you can do this!"

"It's coming!" said Lynn, and Blake positioned himself in a way that he could hold the baby when it comes out.

"Just push! It's...!"

"AHHHHHH!" screamed Lynn, and a figure came out of her.

Blake picked the baby up. It was crying, and covered in blood. Then he looked at Lynn. She was losing blood very quickly, and was extremely white.

"Lynn. Lynn!"

He went towards her, and she said something.

"There's nothing there." she said, and became still, her brown eyes lifeless.

"Oh, Jesus God! Lynn!" sobbed Blake.

"LYNN!" he said, shaking her. It could not be true. He cried uncontrollably, holding her close to him.

Now he was alone, and only had this baby. He didn't even know if it was his. He turned away from Lynn, sobbing, and sat down on the floor. His vision was going blurry, and everything went black.

Suddenly, Blake was sitting on the floor in the school store room, and Jessica was there as well. Once again, Blake was young.

"Lynn says you haven't even kissed her yet." said Jessica unexpectedly.

"What?" asked Blake, confused, feeling his face go red.

"Like in Beauty and the Beast."

"Oh, the play" said Blake, realisation dawning over him. "You mean drama. We're saving for the, like, actual night."

"Uh-huh." said Jessica doubtfully.

"We are!" he said hotly. "We like, cheek kiss."

"So like, is she your girlfriend?" Jessica asked. "Tell me, or else."

"Or else what?" he said.

She then pinned Blake down, tickling him, which was always his weak spot. Blake laughed uncontrollably.

Everything went dark again, and he could only hear Jessica's voice.

"Haha." Jessica laughed. "I got you again!"

He woke up, and was in the chapel again. And he was holding the baby, which was somehow clean. What was more, someone was in front of him. It was Papa Knoth, sitting on a bench. He was holding a knife, but Blake didn't bother defending himself or running away. He didn't even care if he lived or died.

"God in heaven." said Knoth, in his croaky voice. "That's... that's the child, isn't it?"

"My Lord... I've taken care of my children. But your's..." he said. "I am powerless against."

Blake had no idea why Knoth hadn't killed him already, but didn't speak.

"The child's too strong already. You've murdered paradise!" he said, pointing his knife at Blake.

"God has gone silent. Since the storm. The birth." said Knoth. "Who will he have? If he destroys us all, who will he have left to punish?!"

Blake had no clue what he was saying, just as he had had no clue about what Loutermilch was saying all those years before. It seemed like priests had a knack for ruining his life.

"I killed my children!" said Knoth, in an agonised voice. "All of them! Every last one! And still, God is silent!"

"Kill that child if you can." he said, motioning towards the baby. "If you love anything at all, crush it's skull under your heel!"

Blake even thought about doing this, as it had caused all this bullshit. If Lynn hadn't been pregnant, then these crazy people wouldn't have bothered them. He wouldn't have got crucified, or buried alive, or raped. Lynn wouldn't have died. It was strange how such a small baby could cause all this mayhem.

"I know God doesn't hear dead men." said Knoth, raising his knife. "But I expect he answers them." Then he slit his throat, blood spurting out. He made spluttering noises, but then became silent, his neck drooping.

Blake stood up, and filmed his dead body.

"The priest dies. You didn't have to do anything." he said. "You were a child, nobody could expect anything of you. None of this is my fault."

Blake could see that it was daytime. He walked out of the door, and saw that the sky was a pinkish-yellow. The scenery looked quite beautiful. Suddenly, he remembered Jessica. He was not even thinking about Lynn.

As he walked down the stairs that led to the chapel, he remembered how he and Jessica had joined the school choir, and sang Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart. The song was playing inside his head, as he cradled this baby.

He walked past the hanging lady, and onto a bridge. He remembered how he had ran from the villagers here all those hours ago. He could see the well that he had got sucked down earlier.

The villagers were all lying dead, bottles of cyanide everywhere. By the looks of it, they had all killed themselves. He recorded this.

"You have her. She'll get to grow up." said Blake. "She'll do everything she was born to do."

He had come to adore the baby. It was like a token, a reminder of everything he had went through. The ground started rumbling again.

"God..."

Blake zoomed in on the sun with his camera. It looked like a giant fireball. As Blake kept walking forwards, he stopped.

The sun was growing larger, and it was coming towards him. It tore everything apart, and the light blinded his eyes. He shielded his face, and everything was white.

Blake opened his eyes. He was young again, and was in the school.

"Hey Blake!" called Jessica. "Try to find me!"

Blake went into the cafeteria. It was still snowing outside, but it was not as dark. He couldn't tell if it was getting darker, or lighter, but the sky was a deep blue.

"I'm over here! Hahaha!"

Blake went through the kitchen and into the store room. Jessica walked out, her neck bruised, and her face slightly blue.

"Don't worry." she said, taking his hand and leading him into the store room. "I'll never let you go. You never let me go."

They kneeled down, and Jessica started praying.

"Now the light has gone away. Saviour listen while I pray. Begging thee to watch and keep. And send me quietly to sleep."

The lights were fading, and it started to go black.

"Watchful Saviour, wash away. All I've been wrong today. Help me everyday to be gentle. Gentle more like thee."

And Blake was plunged into darkness once more.


	14. The Aftermath

Blake was standing in complete darkness. He could only see his body. He was young, and was wearing his old school uniform. Suddenly, Lynn and Jessica appeared in front of him, both young.

"Lynn? Jess?" said Blake, astonished.

"Hi, Blake!" said Jessica, hugging him.

"We've missed you!" said Lynn.

Tears started pouring out of Blake's eyes. He was confused. He could only see them, otherwise everything was black.

"I don't understand. Am I dead?"

"No, Blake." said Jessica. "This is just a dream."

"I'm sorry... Both of you wouldn't have died if it wasn't for me." Blake sobbed.

"Blake, it's not your fault. You were just a child, you did everything you can." said Jessica.

"And you tried your hardest to save me as well." Lynn said. "None of this is your fault. Now, I think it's time for you to wake up.

"None of this is my fault."repeated Blake, as they started to fade away. "None of this is my fault..."

"Blake! Blake!" said a voice. It was familiar.

Blake opened his eyes. He was lying down. Above him, was a man peering down at him. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He looked familiar.

"Who are you...?" said Blake groggily. "And how the fuck am I still alive? And-" Blake sharply sat up. "Where's the baby?"

"Blake, calm down." said the man.

"And who do you think you are to tell me to calm down?" said Blake angrily.

"I'm Mr. Upshur. Miles Upshur." said the man, with a grin.

"MILES?!" Blake was ecstatic. This could not be true. Miles had died, surely. Blake got up and hugged him.

"Miles, I missed you so much..." sobbed Blake. "But, I thought you were dead! Fuck's sake, I thought I was dead!"

"I'll explain everything soon. Let's just get you out of here as soon as possible." said Miles.

"Where am I?" said Blake.

"St. Joseph's hospital, Arizona." explained Miles. "But, we're not safe here. Let's go."

"Where?" asked Blake.

"I've got a guy who can help."

"What's his name?"

"I can't say it here. Let's just go. You've not been discharged yet, so we need to sneak out." said Miles, in a hushed voice.

Miles took his hand and pulled him up. A nurse looked round.

"Taking Blake to the bathroom." Miles explained.

The nurse nodded, and they set off.

"Miles, where are we going? And where the fuck is the baby?"

"There was never a baby. What're you talking about?"

"Oh, no... she must have died!" said Blake. "Miles, how am I not dead?"

"Blake! I'll tell you soon!" said Miles impatiently.

"OK..." said Blake.

They walked out of the front door. Suprisingly, there was no one around. A clock told him that it was almost three in the morning.

The air was cool outside. There was a man standing with his back turned, and his hood up. When Miles approached him, and tappes him on the shoulder, he jumped.

"It's OK, Waylon, it's me. I've got Blake, let's go."

They stepped into a van, and drove off, the anonymous man driving."

"OK, Miles, I want an explanation. How are you, and me, still alive, and who the fuck is this guy that's with us?" said Blake.

"OK. But get ready, you're about to hear some crazy shit!"

"I can deal with it." said Blake.

"This man is the man who helped expose Murkoff Corporation. The man who sent me the email. His name is Waylon Park. Waylon, tell him the story."

The man named Waylon Park lowered his hood and looked round. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a kind face.

"Hi, I'm Waylon Park, you can call me Waylon. You must be Blake Langermann." he said, outstretching his hand.

"OK, so I used to be a software engineer at Murkoff Corporation. I saw that they were doing fucked up things to the patients in Mount Massive Asylum. They were making them take part in something called the Morphogenic Engine Program."

"What's that?" asked Blake.

"Basically, the patients get forced to watch videos of weird shapes, and it goes through their head, and makes them even crazier. It was a part of summoning a German ghost called the Walrider. A former Nazi joined Murkoff and helped them to summon the Walrider. His name was Rudolf Wernicke."

"The Walrider had to possess someone, they needed a host. The host for some time was a guy called Billy Hope. He was put in a glass ball for many years, with pipes sticking into his body."

Blake imagined this gruesome thought.

"Anyway, now my take in the story. So, I was writing an email one day, the email to Miles. I had just sent the emaik, then was called to do some work. When I came back in to get my laptop and leave, a high-ranking Murkoff worker was there waiting for me. His name was Jeremy Blaire."

"He found out what I'd done, and I was knocked out by the guards."

"So, what happened next?" said Blake.

"Now it's time I tell you what happened to me." said Miles.

"I was in the asylum about two hours after Waylon sent the email. The doors were locked, and there were military cars. I climbed in through a window. When I got in, I saw dead bodies everywhere, and a dying soldier was telling me to get out."

"So, I was trying to find a way out, but a big, fat guy called Chris Walker grabbed me and threw me down a floor, through a window. This guy was an ex-military soldier, but had been experimented on, and was now a killer monster. He could rip off heads with ease."

"So, I was lying on the ground, and a crazy priest called Martin Archimbaud came to me, and told me that I was an apostle and I had to film everything."

"I didn't give a fuck, and I got a keycard to get into the security room. I was trying to unlock the doors, but Father fucking Martin shut off the power. So, I had to go down into the basement and shut on the power. All this was happening as I was getting chased by crazy fuckers."

"Anyway, I turned the power back on, and was about to unlock the doors, but the priest stabbed me with a needle and put me to sleep."

Blake wasn't speaking, he would have his time to speak later. He was speechless anyway.

"So, by this time, I was awake." said Waylon. "I'd been put in front of the Morphogenic Engine, forced to watch it, tied to a chair. Suddenly, the power went out, which must have been Father Martin's doings. I tried to escape the asylum, while being chased by a cannibal. Eventually, I got to a security room, and tried to phone the police, but Jeremy Blaire attacked me."

"He almost choked me, but Chris Walker came in and distracted him. Anyway, at one point I missed a jump, and fell through a roof, landing in the female ward. Here, there was a guy called Eddie Gluskin, who wanted me to be his bride. I managed to injure my leg badly. He caught me and put me unconcious as well."

"So, I was in the other side of the asylum." explained Miles. "Eventually, I got into the Male Ward, and was chased by about ten people. I went into a room, and found a dumb waiter, to send food up into a kitchen. Someone was calling from above. He sounded normal, so I climbed in it and went up. Up there, a crazy doctor called Richard Trager was waiting for me. He took me into a room, and... well that's how this happened." Miles said, lifting his hands.

Two fingers were gone, and there were only stumps left.

"Ugh!" said Blake.

"Yeah, it's pretty gruesome. So, I managed to kill Trager by squeezing him in an elevator. I went outside and looked for Father Martin, who said that he would help me get out. I followed him through the whole asylum, until I found him, nailed to a cross. He wanted to be crucified, and told someone to set him on fire."

Blake remembered how he had been crucified as well, and his hands tingled at the thought. Waylon now spoke.

"Gluskin threatened to cut off my dick and balls, and almost did, but I was saved by a random guy. After this, Eddie tried to hang me in his baskeball court that was full of bodies, hanging from the ceiling. But I ended up escaping the rope, and he tripped. He ended up getting impaled by a large stick, and died."

"At this point, I took the elevator key from Father Martin and went into the elevator, thinking that I was free." said Miles. "But it kept going deeper, and took me to an underground lab, where Waylon used to work. Chris Walker came down, almost killing me, but the Walrider killed him instead. You can only see it using nighy vision. I also found the supposedly dead Rudolf Wernicke. He told me that I had to kill the host, Billy Hope, so that the Walrider would die with him."

"I had almost escaped, and I could see the burning church in the distance." said Waylon.

"It turned out, that killing Billy Hope just made the Walrider angrier." said Miles. "It threw me about as if I was a rag doll, and pulled me into the air. Then, it went inside me, and, well... I became the host."

"Why did it choose you?" asked Blake.

"Well, the Walrider can possess anyone who has seen alot of horrors. So, I guess I was the perfect man..." Miles said bitterly.

"You still haven't told me how you survived. I thought the building burned down?" said Blake.

"OK, so the Walrider was inside me, and the exit was near. I limped towards it, I could hardly walk. I still had the camera, though. I was about to leave through a door, when I saw Wernicke in his wheelchair, and a load of military police. They shot me many times, and I fell to the ground, supposedly dead. They though that I knew too much, so they tried to kill me. But, the Walrider kept me alive, and it killed everyone in the room." said Miles.

"At this point, I was at the main doors." said Waylon. "Jeremy Blaire made a fake deal with me, saying that if I helped him up, he would help me get out. So, I went towards me, but he grabbed me and stabbed me. He was about to kill me, but that was when Miles stepped in. Or, the Walrider."

"The Walrider killed Blaire." said Miles.

"And I was free to go." said Waylon. "I saw a car. It was Miles' car. I got in, and saw a black mist in the form of a human, coming towards me. It was Miles, but I didn't know at the time. So, I reversed and left."

"I wasn't trying to hurt him." said Miles, with a grin. "I actually opened the gates for him."

"So, I posted the footage online, and I've been on the run, ever since." said Waylon. "My family are elsewhere, but safe."

"So, you still have this fucking Walrider thing inside you?" Blake asked Miles incredulously.

"Nah, it left me." said Miles. "It got bored, cos I was never around humans that much, so there wasn't anyone to hurt, really."

"So, you survived, and didn't tell me?" said Blake. "Miles, it's been almost three years!"

"I really wanted to! But I was on the run! i couldn't get close to civilisation." said Miles. "I managed to quickly phone my parents, but I had to stay secretive."

"You went through alot, guys." said Blake.

"And so did you, apparently." said Waylon. "Now it's your turn to tell us exactly what happened to you."

"I looked at sone of your footage, and it looks as if Murkoff might be involved. But, I need you to tell us exactly what happened, because there's alot of footage that was just static." said Miles.

"OK." said Blake. Maybe talking about it would get some shit off of his chest.

"It started when me and Lynn got a call from our boss, to do a report on a murdered woman, who was pregnant, in rural Arizona. We were flying over the Havasupai Indian Reservation, when there was a flashing light, and our helicopter crashed. Then, I had a dream about my old school, and one of my old school friends."

"What was the dream like?" asked Waylon.

"It was as if I was actually there." said Blake.

"So, I woke up, and saw that the pilot had been skinned alive. I found a town, and was chased by a really tall, crazy lady with a pickaxe, and a couple of villagers. Then there was another flashing light, and the villagers stopped chasing me, as if they couldn't see me."

"I found Lynn, but we were held by the Christian cult. Then, some weird creatures who were, like, Anti-Christ or something came, called heretics. The leader of them, Val, killed the Christians. Everyone thought that Lynn was pregnant with the Devil, so the heretics took Lynn. Then, Val just... licked my face twice and left me."

"What gender was Val?" said Miles. "Just curious."

"To be honest, I don't really know. Could be either." said Blake. "Anyway, I was running away from the villagers again, and when I opened a door, there was another flashing light and I was back in school."

"Why did you keep going back to school in your dreams?" asked Waylon. "Did something ever happen there?"

Blake didn't want to talk about it, but he did.

"My friend... that girl, Jessica. She died in fourth grade. She was me and Lynn's best friend."

"Oh, I'm sorry." said Miles. "Uhhh... cause of death?"

"Murder." said Blake. He knew now, after all these years, that she hadn't commited suicide. "So, I left the school through the gates outside, and it was snowing. The floor fell through, and I bumped my head pretty hard a few times, and ended up back in reality. Then, a man came up to me. He was the only nice guy, his name was Ethan. Turns out that the pregnant woman who was killed turned out be his daughter."

"The leader of the cult raped her when she was fifteen. The leader was called Sullivan Knoth, or Papa Knoth."

Miles and Waylon looked disgusted.

"He asked about his daughter, Jane Doe. But I... lied. I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth. I said that she was fine." Blake said guiltily.

"You done the right thing." said Miles reassuringly.

"So, he took me in and I slept while my head healed. I could hear Jessica screaming in my sleep. Then, I woke up. That crazy-ass pickaxe lady was in the house, interrogating Ethan. She suspected that he knew where I was. Then, she killed him. The only guy who wasn't a crazy fucker trying to kill me, was dead!" Blake's voice broke.

"So, I decided to go to the chapel, because I thought that somebody there would know where they had taken Lynn. I went through a lot of shit to get there, though. I got sucked down a well by tongues, somehow. I thought I was going crazy. Then, I was in the school's vent system. It fell down, and I was in a clasrrom. Then, in the corridor, saw Jessica hanging, and she got pulled up into black mist by a tongue. I opened a door into music class, and I was back in reality."

Blake remembered how smooth the transitions between his dreams and reality were.

"A guy ran towards me and pushed me down stairs. I got away, and after a bit more running, I got to the chapel. The pickaxe lady, Marta, almost pulled me down from a gate I was climbing, but I managed to kick her face."

"So, in the chapel I saw a man, Josiah, and his wife, Mary, get tortured by the Christians. Josiah didn't want to give Lynn's whereabouts, but eventually he gave in. She had been took to the mines. So, the couple were killed, and when I walked out of the chapel, I was getting chased once again, by the villagers. I got into a cornfield, and had to figure out a puzzle involving some water mill and shit."

"The Marta bitch almost killed me again, but I managed to kick her in the face, again." said Blake, with a slight grin.

"Overkill, dude." said Miles. Blake laughed.

"Anyway, I could see the mines. I climbed over a door into a house, and saw that there were tiles on the roof. They broke, and I fell down, back into the school. So, I got jumpscared by some weird monster, scared the living shit out of me. When I climbed into a vent, I realised that this was the same vent that I got pulled down into, from the well. A tongue grabbed my legs, and I looked back. I wriggled free, but when I faced forwards again, I was in a hole in the mountain."

Blake was edging nearer to the story of how he had been nailed to a cross.

"The mines were across a broken bridge. When I tightrope-walked across narrow beams, above a forest, a load of locusts came flying towards me. There were hundreds of thousands. I lost footing, and fell to the ground. Luckily, I managed to hang onto a tree with my foot."

Miles whistled.

"Close call." he said

"Yeah, right?" Blake said, with a short chuckle. Talking about it seemed to make him feel better.

"So, I saw this weird fucked up mutant, looked like Smeagle from The Hobbit." said Blake, and they laughed. "He got shot down by a flaming arrow. The person, or whatever it was, who shot it down, was a deformed kinda toddler with a man's voice, sitting on top of some big guy. The little guy was called Laird, and his 'mount' was Nick. They were the leaders of the Scalled, the ex-cultists who had syphilis and gonorrhoea, and were sent away. They were tought to believe that they were just getting punished by God."

"These crazy fucks thought I was Jesus for some fucking reason. Called me the Modern Christ, or the Scalled Christ. You know, I would've felt sorry for them, if they hadn't been trying to eat me alive. They were really sick, with spots and shit everywhere. Hope I didn't get infected, cos one guy vomited on me..." said Blake grimly.

"The doctors detected STD's." said Miles. "You were treated, so you're fine."

"Thank fuck." said Blake. "Anyway, I was running from Laird and Nick, and I squeezed through a crack into a building. When I turned round, and made to get out, I was in a blue locker. Back in school."

"So, I saw Jessica running, and I followed her. Then, I climbed up a vent, and ended up in a log. Back in reality. I was pulled out of the log by two men, and then Laird and Nick grabbed me."

"Laird thought he had found Jesus, and tested me to see if it was me. He stabbed his own hand with his arrows, and forced me to drink his blood. Then, he said I was unmarked and pure. A guy tried to eat my arm, but Nick slapped him away, Laird calling him a 'halfwit dogs cunt'."

"What a colourful choice of swear words." said Miles.

"Yeah..." Blake chuckled.

"So, they dragged me to a cross, and, well, you all know what happened to Jesus in the end..." said Blake, showing them his hands. They were bandaged, but he knew they would understand.

"No way..." groaned Miles.

"God..." said Waylon.

"I was unconscious for a bit, but when I woke up, I knew that I couldn't just hang there. So, I ripped my hands out of the nails, and fell hard to the floor."

Miles cringed.

"I got bandages, and looked for my camera. When I found it inside a house, I picked it up and turned it on. I looked through and saw that I was in the school cafeteria. I saw a weird monster thing run across the hallway. I followed it, and heard a phone. I picked it up, and a man said that he would get me to safety. But at the end of the call, a tongue came out of the phone, choking me." said Blake.

"I wriggled free, and left the room. Then,I saw the monster and I ran. I saw Jessica go into a locker, screaming. I followed her in, but when I looked around, it was wooden. I left, and ended up in a wooden house."

"I ran away from Nick and Laird a bit more, but then I got caught again. I got caught in barbed wire, and Nick pulled me out. He threw me into a coffin, and dragged it into a hole. Then he started putting rocks on top of it, burying me alive."

"How the fuck did you get out of this one?!" asked Miles incredulously.

"I managed to break out, they hadn't really buried me too deep. I kept making my way across the forest, and eventually I saw the mine. I was on a hill, though, and I needed a rope to safely get me down. I got the rope off of a hanging guy, and ran back to the shack that I needed to descend from. When I was making my way down, Nick grabbed my rope, trying to pull me back up. But then, one of his own followers pushed him down." explained Blake.

"I looked up, and saw that Laird and Nick were dead."

"Thank fuck!" said Miles.

"Yeah, I woulda felt sorry for them if they hadn't crucified me and buried me alive." said Blake. "So, I was trapped underneath wood and I opened a trapdoor. I climbed out, and ended up on the roof of a building. The school roof. It was freezing, cos of the snow. I went in the building, the weird monster thing chasing me again. Eventually, I got back into the cafeteria. Here, one of the crucifixes on the wall lit up and I saw Jessica. Everything was dark, and I had to follow her voice. She kept repeating a prayer."

"Suddenly, her voice stopped and she appeared, hanging from a noose." said Blake.

"So she was hung?" asked Waylon.

"No, it's... complicated. I'll... tell you in a bit..." said Blake. "So, I ended up back in reality, in a cave. I got out, and saw a lake. Then, I saw a man literally walk calmly into the fucking lake. The same man I saw in one of my dreams. Then, I was scared to go into the water. So, I used a raft to get to the other side, where the mines were. When I was sailing along, it suddenly got misty, and a huge tongue shot up out of the water."

"What the fuck?" said Miles.

"I know, right?" said Blake. "Then, that bright light thing with the horn sound happened again. After that, dead fish started floating to the surface. And the, a huge wave came crashing down on me, sending me into the water."

"A wave? In a lake?" said Waylon.

"Fucked up, I know." said Blake. "There were dead bodies floating about in the water. I swam back to the raft, but I was grabbed by something under the water. A weird, slimy thing with loads of arms. Looked like an octopus, but it couldn't be in a lake. So, I kept sailing, and at one point, got knocked off and lost it. Thankfully, I got it back. I could see the heretics, the ones who had taken Lynn."

"Eventually, I could see the mine. I was really close, but got knocked off my raft. Then I realised that there were heretics all around me in the water. It was only waist-high at this point. I swam towards the mine, but a tongue grabbed my neck and pulled me into it." Miles and Waylon made confused faces. "When I resurfaced, the monster from my dreams was standing there. Everything was dark, but I was still in waist-high water. I turned back and swam. I climbed out of the water, realising that I was in my school's swimming pool."

"I saw Jessica a few times, and got chased by the monster again. I went into a corridor, and the bells started ringing, blood showering down from them. I could hear Jess screaming. I found a ladder in an office, and climbed up it, noticing that it slowly changed from steel to wood. Then I opened a trapdoor, and found myself in a wooden shack." said Blake.

"I walked outside, and noticed something really weird. It was raining. Raining blood." said Blake.

"What the fuck?" said Miles.

"I thought I was going crazy. I still think so. How could that have happened?" said Blake.

"I have a theory, but I'll wait for you to finish." said Waylon, and Blake was surprised. His question was rhetorical, not really meant to be answered.

"Really?" asked Blake, stunned. "OK, I'm near the end now. This is when things start getting strange."

"Yeah, cos nothing's been strange so far." said Miles sarcastically.

"Shut up..." Blake grinned. "So, I go into the mines, a guy jumps on me and says we need to get out. I squeeze through a crack, and when I get out, I'm in my school's library. On two computers, there's a conversation that me and Jessica once had, then the computers start blinking on and off."

"I got chased by the monster again, and at one point a tongue shot out of a window, pulling me into the air, and into the swimming pool. I resurface and realise that I'm in a pool of blood, in a big box. It was still raining blood. I went in a building, trying to get to the top floor of the mines. I got chases by some more heretics, and made to jump out of a window."

"Again, there was a bright white light and that horn sound. I hung from the ledge of the window, but my surroundings had changed. It was snowing, and the building in front of me was made of brick, not wood. I climbed through a window into a classroom. Out of the windows in the corridors, I could see dozens of Jessicas hanging from the sky."

Miles and Waylon looked sickened.

"I went into a library, got chased by the monstee through a maze of bookshelves. I slipped behind a bookshelf at one point, following a screaming Jessica. Then, a heretic grabbed me. I pushed it off, and landed on wooden floor. I was back in reality." said Blake.

"I got chased by heretics again, and I slid down a rooftoop. I landes on top of Jessica, my face on her chest. Her face was bloody and dead. I looked up, and saw stairs, and the monster. I ran into a toilet and hid in the stalls. I got out, and it started

chasing me again. I went into a room and jumped out of a window. I hung on, but again, my surroundings had changed. The walls were wooden again, and it was raining blood once more. I realised that the longer I was in this shithole, the more dreams I got." Blake said. "Any ideas?" asked Blake, looking at Waylon.

"Yes, but I'll tell you them when you're done." said Waylon

"OK. So, I went down a chute and fell hard. I was chased again by more heretics, and had to climb back up the way. I got up, and shut a trapdoor, blocking their access. I could see the elevator that went down into the mine. I pulled the lever, waiting for it to come. When it did, though there were heretics inside it."

"How many of these fuckers were there?" asked Miles.

"Yeah. I ran back the way, and up some stairs. I jumped back down and ran back to the elevator. I pressed the button, and made my way down. I was eighty feet down, when it started falling really fast. It stopped at four hundred and fourty feet, but then kept going. It stopped for good at eight hundred feet." said Blake.

"One of my biggest fears is being in a mine." said Miles, with a shudder.

"Same here, but I had to save Lynn." said Blake. "I got out of the elevator just in time, cos it crashed down and broke completely. I was trapped. I got chased by more heretics, and their leader Val. At one point, she blew some weird dust in my face, and took my camera. The heretics were having some sort of sexual orgy. Then I saw Lynn, hanging from her arms and legs on top of a well. I got close to her, but Val grabbed me, pushing me on to the ground." said Blake. "She sat on top of me, but suddenly everything went dark. And when I opened my eyes, I saw Jessica sitting on top of me, tickling me."

Miles was wide-eyed.

"This wasn't just a dream. This was a memory. I was a kid again. So, we were walking about in the school after hours, and then we walked in front of the Music Class. Out came one of the priests, Father Loutermilch. He told Jessica to come in to class, and tried to stop me going in. But I went anyway." said Blake. This was the part of the story that he was least looking forward to telling. But he was going to tell all of the details. "He started giving us into trouble, and when he said to Jessica that he was gonna tell her dad, she looked really scared."

Miles and Waylon looked horrified.

"Then Loutermilch... he... stroked her face, asking her to pray with him. Then he told me to go home." said Blake. "Jessica didn't want me to, and he started telling me that what I wanted was wrong. That I was sinning. Then, I was forced out of the room, and I left her alone..." Blake started to sob.

Miles put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, there's nothing you could've done." he said soothingly. "You were just a kid, you didn't know what was going on. You don't need to tell the rest."

"No... It's OK, I'll tell." said Blake, wiping away his tears. "I went to leave, to get help. But at the exit, I heard Jess screaming. I ran back to see her getting chased by Loutermilch. I went through a door, and... saw her on the bottom of the stairs, Loutermilch at the top. Her face was bloody and her neck looked broken. Then, I hugged her and held her close, hearing Loutermilch say: 'I don't know what you think you saw.' Then I lifted my head up, and realised I was back in the mines."

"Sorry." intereupted Waylon. "But if she was murdered, then why did you keep seeing her hanging?"

"I'll get to that." said Blake. "The villagerd were killing the heretics, and they noticed me. They started chasing me, but I got away. Somehow, I had my camera back, and I was almst out of the mines, which looked like it was gonna collapse. Then, I walked out of a door outside, and saw Lynn."

"She was pregnant, I don't know how. She was covered in crust. We walked together, trying to find shelter. There was thunder and lightning, and a forest fire. We found a shack, and I lay her down on a bed. She said that the baby was coming." said Blake. "Suddenly, that Marta bitch appeared, so we needed to run. We got out of the shack, and made our way back into the forest. But then, Marta showed up, crashing through the wood. We were cornered, I knew we were fucked. She was about to kill me, but then, a huge crucifix fell from above, going right through her body."

"Thank God..." said Miles.

"We got to the chapel, where I lay down Lynn. She was about to give birth. I was ready to hold the baby when it came out." said Blake. "It came out, covered in blood. I held it, but noticed that Lynn was getting pale. Her last words were 'There's nothing there.' Then, she... she was gone." Blake's voice broke and he sobbed uncontrollably.

Miles consoled him, hugging him.

Blake cried for a minute, but then told the rest of the story.

"I sat down, with the baby, and everything went black. I looked up, and saw Jessica. This was another memory, right before when she had died. She questioned me, asking me if Lynn was my girlfriend." said Blake, with a watery smile.

Miles laughed. "Fourth Grade problems, right?"

"Yeah. So, then she started tickling me, and everything went black again. I woke up and saw Papa Knoth, the leader of the cult, sitting on a bench. He spoke about some shit, I wasn't paying attention." said Blake. "He told me to kill the child, and I considered it. It was the thing that caused all this bullshit. Then, the fat bitch killed himself, slit his own throat."

"I stood up, and left. I didn't even take Lynn's body!" said Blake. "I was crazy. I kept thinking I was back at school, with Jessica. I could hear a choir song that we had sang at school, Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart. It was in my head. I walked out the front doors, and it was daytime. The sky was pink, and the sun was huge. Lay aside the dead bodies, and the scenery was beautiful. Everyone had killed themselves, there were bottles of cyanide everywhere. When I got near the front of the village, I stopped and looked at the sun. It was growing larger, and was comicoming towards me. I shielded my face, and everything was white."

Miles looked confused, but Waylon did not. Clearly he knew something.

"When my vision was clear, I realised I was a kid again, in school. But it wasn't a memory, really." said Blake. "I was playing hide and seek with Jess, and I was looking. I found her in the store room, her neck bruised as if there had been a rope there. She took my hand. 'Don't worry.' she had said. 'I'll never let you go. You never let me go.' Then we kneeled down, and she started to pray. Then everything went black." Blake started sobbing again.

"Before waking up, you kept saying 'None of this is my fault said Miles.

"Yeah, I had a dream about Lynn and Jess telling me the same thing, right before I woke up." said Blake.

Miles was crying a little. Lynn had been one of his best friends.

"So, how did I get out alive?" Blake asked, looking at Waylon. "Where's the baby?"

"I have a theory. It involves Murkoff, and explains the dreams, the baby, and the apparent Apocalypse." said Waylon. "It was on the news that you were missing, and the following morning, a rescue team flew out to save you. You were lying at the front of the village, but there was no baby. They took Lynn's body as well, don't worry. That's how you got alive." said Waylon.

"But the sun... and the baby?" said Blake.

"I'll explain." said Waylon patiently. "You saw a tower, right? I saw in one of your recordings?"

"Yeah." said Blake.

"That was where the light and the noise were coming from. And you know who built the tower? Murkoff. The whole village was a test site, the microwave relays making them insane, making them look back at their deepest guilts and regrets, and making them twisted." explained Waylon.

"How do you know it was Murkoff?" asked Blake.

"Thanks to you." said Waylon, with a smile. "You picked up a note that mentioned Jenny Roland, a Murkoff employee."

"So, is that why I kept seeing those dreams?" asked Blake.

"Yep. And the monster, I'm guessing, was representing that teacher who killed Jessica." said Waylon. "But I've got a question. Why did you keep see her hanging?"

"Because... after she died, Loutermilch told me to go to the Music Room. There was a suicide note written by him on the wall, but it said that it was by Jessica." said Blake. "Then he came back and took me to Jessica, and she was hanging. He said that she had killed herself. He said to me: 'I don't know what you think you saw.' I believed him. And I told everyone that she had killed herself." said Blake, guiltily.

"He manipulated you." said Miles. "It's not your fault. Wish I was around, I woulda done something about him..." he said darkly.

"So, the baby?" said Blake, talking to Waylon once more.

"The baby." repeated Waylon. "The baby was fake. You were seeing things. You were so affected by the relays, that you went crazy. Lynn wasn't affected that much, because she was mostly in the mines, eight hundred feet deep. It was kind of like mass hysteria, because you kept hearing people talk about the baby, so you saw it, as well as Knoth. That's also why Lynn said that there was nothing there. She never saw the baby."

"So, how did she... die?" Blake asked.

"She must have got hurt by the heretics, and died of blood loss." said Waylon. "You also kept thinking you were back in school with Jessica. You associated your current scenario with the past. They both involved extreme Catholics as well as someone you loved, tried to save, but lost them in the end."

"That's why you were forgetting Lynn when she died, and thought more about Jessica. Also, you kept hearing people talk about the Apocalypse, so you saw it. There was no Apocalypse." finished Waylon. "You went through alot, physically and emotionally."

"Get some rest, dude." said Miles, patting him on the back. "And tomorrow, upload the damn footage and finish these Murkoff pricks."

Blake laughed. He did not know what would come next in his life. He felt better now. He came to accept that what was done, was done, and was irreversible. And he also accepted that the deats of his friend and wife were not his fault.

It was sunrise, and they were travelling along a remote highway. The sky looked beautiful. Blake had lost important people in his life, but he now had Miles and Waylon to suport him. He was extremely exhausted.

"None of this is my fault..." Blake mumbled, falling to sleep.


End file.
